A Superhero Story
by WikketKrikket
Summary: Ryou is becoming steadily more confused. On top of trying to keep up with certain elements of his past and uncertain feelings, he has superpowers and all the troubles with them, which includes Seto trying to unmask him. Wonderful. Slight RyouSerenity
1. An Angel

A/N: Okie, I KNOW I said I would write all the one-shots first, but this thing has been in my brain for ages and just would not go away till I finally let it take top priority. So, here it is- my new fic. And at last, it's Ryou-centric. (Although there will be a lot of Seto later, as usual. Heh.) Before I forget, this is **_After _**the Items have flown away into the ether, but is slightly AU-ish as I'll be doing some twiddling with Ages and histories etc as we go along. At this point... Well, they're still kinda 15/16 ish.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that even sounds _vaguely _copyrighted.

And now, to another product of my warped imagination. Enjoy:D

A Superhero Story

Prologue: An Angel

The bridge was badly lit. It needed lights on even at this time in the afternoon in the eternal shade of the tower blocks surrounding it, but for the purposes it served that was just fine. She came to a stop beneath the flickering orange street light in the middle, as it contemplated wheatear to continue it's struggle for illumination or not. She really didn't mind, either way. It made no difference to her anymore.

She didn't wipe away the tears, leaning over the waist-high railing and letting them join the sluggish waters of the canal below. It was tempting, so, so tempting. And it would be so _easy_- no-one would be passing or looking out of the windows at this time of day, they'd all be at work. No-one would know until her body floated downstream. But she didn't want to be in it when it did. She began feverishly scooping up the dirt and gravel on the road, packing it into every available space in her pockets and every fold of her clothes. She felt the effect of extra weight immediately. As she attempted to climb up onto the railing, it was tugging at her, telling her to revise the decision. She knew that the weight was hypocritical- as soon as she was in the water, it would help her.

As soon as she was in the water.

Balancing precariously on the rail, supporting herself on the lamppost, the weight got its wish. She couldn't bring herself to do it. Some basic instinct was pulling her away, calling her back to the road. The tears rushed down her face faster. She was trapped. She had only been able to think of one way out of this hell she was in, and she couldn't even do that. She was trapped… Clinging to the light, she put a foot tentatively down in the direction of that hated life. But, as if reading her thoughts, she misjudged the distance down, her leg catching on the wall, her hands coming free of its desperately maintained hold, and she tumbled. She tumbled backwards, over the ledge.

The fall was fast. If the few small pebbles in her pockets helped, she didn't know. As soon as she hit that icy-cold water, all the thoughts were knocked out of her. And so was her breath. The water leaked in seemingly at every crevice, and she barely registered the fact that once her head hit the bottom she'd be knocked unconscious, and that would be the last of her…

Her head did not hit the bottom. In fact, none of her did. She felt something springy beneath her, becoming more and more solid as she pressed into it. Her need for air no longer seemed quite so urgent as whatever she'd landed on absorbed her inside itself before rushing impossibly fast to the surface, tossing her out onto the road side.

She lay there, chocking, and spitting up water. The buildings before her spun and danced, and the last thing she saw before she fell unconscious was a flash of white, disappearing into the blackness of the tower block's shadow.

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"She tried to kill herself." Joey stated, revelling in being the first to hear this story in his particular friendship group. "Y'know the Remington Bridge, down by all the flats?" Not his flats, you understand. The posh ones, on the other side of town. But that wasn't the point. "She jumped right off."

"That's awful…" Téa gasped, unable to believe someone from their own year group would even think about doing something like that. To be that depressed was a terrible thing.

"But that's not the point!" Joey replied impatiently. "She _survived. _In school today, actually. Someone told me she says that when she was in the water something pushed her back out. And then…" He paused dramatically. "She saw a flash of white, disappearing!"

Yugi and Téa exchanged glances. They'd learnt not to listen to some of the tall tales Joey liked to pass on. He was a real rumour spreader. Tristan, however, seemed to be as gullible as his blond counterpart.

"What was it?" He asked, wide-eyed.

"No-one knows!" Joey said gleefully. "She reckons it was an angel. When she came to, she marched straight into the first Church she could find, announced that she had been saved by an Angel and turned her life over to Christianity right there and then!"

"…I'm not sure I believe this story, Joey…" Téa said. "She's not exactly the sort for Church, is she? Why would she think an _angel _saved her?"

"Then what was it?" Joey demanded.

"It sounds too far-fetched." Yugi pointed out. "Someone probably just pulled her out. If she fainted straight after, it would be an easy mistake to make, right?" Tristan and Joey protested against this, insisting there was some sort of supernatural mystery here, but Téa sided with Yugi. All heads turned to the last member of the group for the casting vote, who, as always, seemed completely oblivious.

"Ryou!" Joey yelled, hitting the white-haired boy on the head. "Yo!"

Ryou shot him an injured look, rubbing the offended area. "There are better ways of gaining my attention…" He assured Joey mildly, turning back to the comic he'd been using to studiously ignore everything around him.

"Ryou!" Tristan protested. "Leave the crazy backwards comic book for a moment and help us out here!" He pulled the American comic out of Ryou's protesting hands, looking at it suspiciously. "How can you read it like that anyway?"

"Right to left, left to right… It really makes no difference to me." Ryou shrugged, snatching his issue of _Spiderman_ back and stuffing it into his bag, knowing he'd get no peace to read it now.

"What do you think?" Joey demanded.

Ryou blinked. "Um…"

"You weren't listening, were you?" Téa sighed.

"I'm afraid not." Ryou answered, sheepishly. Joey impatiently related the entire unlikely story again.

"So, what do you reckon?" He asked, eagerly. "It's got to be _something _weird, right?"

"Ryou's a little too _sensible _to believe what you tell him." Téa teased, although she was looking at Ryou persuasively when she said it. What an awkward predicament.

"Well…" Ryou began, slowly, trying to delay having to take a side. Then their teacher entered. His name was Watanabe, but, as far as Ryou was concerned, it should have been salvation. And he had some news for them all.

They were getting another English transfer student, a girl this time.

"Hey," Yugi smiled. "Maybe she'll have been to some of the places you talk about!"

"Yes." Ryou nodded, smiling himself. He loved living in Japan, he truly did. But England was where he'd been born, and where he'd lived for a good long time. Sometimes he would say something, or mention some far-off place, or a part of what he still considered culture, and his friends just wouldn't know what he was talking about. Sometimes, when he was explaining things, he could only think of the English words to describe them, but, once again, his friends didn't understand. It was lonely, sometimes, even though he had more, and better, friends now then he probably ever had in the past. It would be nice to have someone in the same boat.

The register done, the form slowly descended into a melee of sound once again as they waited for the bell to ring for lesson one. Joey immediately began the conversation again, and the theories just got more and more stupid- from Angels to Aliens, from Spirits to Superheroes. Sitting nearby, Seto gave a derisive snort. They were, in his opinion, idiots for wasting their time on Superhero Stories.

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Her hair was jet black, although she kept her hat rammed down so far on her head that you couldn't see her face. She preferred it like that. It made her totally unremarkable. If there was one thing she had discovered in her months and years of Egypt, it was that it didn't pay to be unusual. It only drew unwanted attention. The only attention she wanted was the sort that could lead her to what she was looking for. Because, today, as she moved through the market, was just like any other day. She was searching, just as she had searched the day before and would probably search the next. She would always be searching. Until she found what she was looking for, she would always be searching.

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_Thinking is the strangest thing. Everyone in the world does it, but nobody knows it. It's a humbling thought to know that even as this runs through my head something completely different will be running through the head of every other person on the planet, and I will never know exactly what. People can break your bones and body, and even your spirit; they can confine your right to act or speak as you please, but no-one can take your thoughts, not really. Your thoughts are your own, locked away inside your head where no-one else can see them. Which is probably a good job, thinking about it, because if people knew what was going through my mind half the time I'd be in an asylum before you could say 'I am Batman'._

_Still. We have developed a way to get these thoughts out of our minds and to share them with other people. Language. Unfortunately, when you don't speak a lot, people assume you don't _think _a lot. I think a lot. Perhaps… I think too much. It leads to things like this, but… Thinking too much lets me forget, you see. But when I don't communicate this, people don't know. I believe that most people don't think there's a lot to me. Which isn't as bad as it sounds. They are more relaxed. And you learn things._

_I'm not claiming to be wise. I am far from wise. But I am learning. From body language, and tone of voice, and in the way people talk, and, presumably, think, I am learning to lie. I speak so little that when I do, it is rarely my real thoughts. Instead it becomes what is needed to be said. What people say, and what they think, are not so close together as people imagine. You can choose what thoughts to voice. You can also choose what to say in their place._

_Or perhaps that's just me. The funny thing about thinking is that you never know what is in someone else's mind; and so you never quite know how isolated, or supported, you really are. _

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A/N: Well, in case you didn't pick up on it, that was a mini Ryou-monologue at the end there. Don't ask me what he was talking about. _(Sweatdrop) _This fic is a little… experimental for me. Updates will, I'm afraid, be incredibly irregular- not even I can predict when they'll pop up. It all depends on the workload I get from school, really. Ah, GCSEs. _(Sigh)_ However, I'm still on my Easter holidays till Sunday, so I'll update as much as I can before hand. Writer's Block shouldn't be a problem as I have actually _planned _each chapter- There are fifteen, plus this prologue and an epilogue. And I've planned them. _(Dies of shock) _So… Join me next time, for **A Superhero Story- A Schoolboy**…


	2. A School Boy

A/N: Well, here we are at our first proper chapter! It's back to school on Monday, so I have no more idea then you do as to when Number Two will be up…

Disclaimer: .dekrow ti kniht t'nod I .gnitseretni kool remialcsid a gnikam ta tpmetta hctid tsal A

Sorry. Couldn't resist. Roll fic!

One: A Schoolboy

"Stupid, stupid, stupid…" Ryou muttered to himself, in time with the rhythm of his footsteps. He was not afraid of people hearing him talking to himself and thinking of him as mad. No-one was ever down by the Remington Bridge at this time of day. It was a fairly poor excuse for a bridge, really. Sitting in the middle of a residential estate, it served as a path across the canal but mainly so the estate agents could claim that the flats surrounding it had a 'river view'. This was what caused the bridge to constantly be in the semi-darkness, as they rose up and practically blotted out the sun. Like the plants optimistically planted along the river side, the bridge seemed wilted and half-hearted on the best of days. Barely ten strides across, the only real time anyone except him set foot on it was to jump off it- which was a disaster for the estate agents as it 'brought the tone of the area down somewhat'.

Ryou's own home did not back onto the canal. In fact, it was only just in the same residential area. The cheapest flat he could get, without having to risk running into the downtown of what was then an unfamiliar city. However, in his opinion, it had been way under priced. Tastefully decorated, it was the sole flat on the top floor. Someone had died there, but he didn't mind. He had no problem with Ghosts. It was a good trek to school and back everyday, but he didn't mind that either. He liked walking, in the solitude, back to the equal solitude of his own flat. No other students, as far as he knew, lived this far out; and most of the other residents were at work when he was around. Usually, he had a good mile or two with out seeing another living thing.

Yesterday, of course, had been the exception.

Ryou sighed deeply as he began to walk over the bridge to the other side of the canal. His mutterings made him feel no less idiotic. If anything, they made him feel worse. He didn't regret saving the girl's life, of course not- especially as she was so happy now. But it had really been none of his business. He'd had no right to stop her if that's what she needed to do. And now he had broken the promise he'd made to himself. He hadn't thought, just acted. He stopped just before the other side of the bridge, groaning.

"This is happening more and more often of late…" He whispered to the waters below him. "I can't keep on hanging in the middle like this… I must go one way or the other. And I know which way to go. It's just that it's slightly easier said then done."

The canal carried on flowing past, not even stopping long enough to listen, let alone give him a response. It didn't know him. And even if it did, it wouldn't have replied. That was the problem. He just needed to hear some advice, a real voice, from the one person who knew about his talents. But he would never hear from her again. He shook his head hard, before he could have chance to start crying again. She'd always said he'd cried too much.

"I want to stop." He told the canal with a definite tone to his voice. Then he continued, slightly less certainly, "But I'm not sure if I can. I don't think I can even control it anymore." He sighed deeply as the wind continued to blow more and more vigorously. He knew it was reflecting his mood, and that if he wasn't careful he'd get angry and Domino would end up in a unexpected tornado. Unfortunately, that thought did make him mad, and his hands clenched into fists. "I hate this." He said, peering down at his reflection in the murky water. "You can tell I'm desperate- I'm trying to get moral advice from a river, after all." He threw a handful of dirt in, absently wondering how many people had sunk in the same way, shattering the image for a moment. "You're not even a real river. You're just a canal that goes from one reservoir to another. I'm really losing it…" He moaned, continuing on his walk again, running a hand worriedly through his hair, looking up at the sky- which was still reasonably clear, despite the winds of his turmoil that blowing through it. "I wish you were here to snap me out of this, Amane."

The only reply came in the form of his wind whipping through the trees and sending the branches whirling. Ryou laughed at himself, thinking how crazy he was getting, and trudged the rest of the way home in silence. _One thing's for sure_, he thought wryly, _I don't feel better from talking about it._

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The building before her had no name. It had once, certainly, but the letters of the sign had long since worn away, beaten off by years of dirt, dust, sand and wind. To many it seemed ominous in it's being anonymous, but to her it was home. It had a narrow door leading onto a narrow street, and it was into this that she stepped. This place was no Ritz, but it was suited to her purposes. And, most importantly, it was cheap and completely unremarkable. Which was helpful, when you are not only looking for someone, but are also being looked for. Casting a last disdainful look up at the stubbornly blue sky, she ducked inside.

Quickly, she removed her hat, hanging it on a peg on the wall before hastily putting her basket of groceries in its place, on her head, out of harm's way. As usual, the place was in chaos, and it seemed the source of the commotion was heading this way at some speed. Seconds later, it appeared, jumping on her.

"Did you get something good?" It demanded, trying to reach the basket, which was held elusively out of her grasp.

"Don't let her get out the door!" another voice called, it's owner appearing on the stairs. "She's grounded!"

"I know…" The bringer of groceries replied. "Hala, get off me… We can't eat anything until I get this into the kitchen." The little girl shook her head firmly, giggling. Still balancing the basket, she sighed noisily. "Ghada, will you _please _control your sister?"

The sister in question began to prise Hala off her leg just as another member of the household appeared on the stairs watching in quiet amusement.

"What's all the noise about?" Amrita demanded in her characteristic Indian-accented Egyptian. "Is dinner ready?"

"I haven't got as far as the kitchen yet!" She replied, in her also-accented Egyptian.

"For heaven's sake…" Jalila's voice came from the room that was so desperately sought. She was tall as a beanpole, and came and plucked the basket from its hard-maintained position on the girl's head. She calmly exited, pursued by a hungry seven year old who was still trying to see what there was. Amrita, seeing there was no more to watch, went back to her room, asking someone to come and tell her when it was ready. Ghada trailed after Jalila and Hala, muttering something about helping.

"Some welcome home…" The girl whispered, sighing in relief. She moved into the living room, where the final member of the house would undoubtedly be. And, surprisingly, there she was.

"Hey, Abaca!" She said enthusiastically, not looking away from the screen before her. And so, within about five minutes of getting back from market, she had met every one of her fellow housemates. There were six of them, crowded into a house that many referred to as a 'girl dorm'. She quite thought it was just a name so they could rent rooms out to under twenty-ones. Not that she minded. There was very little interference from the land lord- As long as they paid, they could do what they liked. It was quite a business, nowadays. Midha, at nineteen, was the oldest. She didn't go to any of the local schools, nor did she work. In fact, it seemed to Abaca that she did very little of anything, really; except sitting on the sofa and watching re-runs of duelling tournaments on the cable. However, when they all put money in for the groceries, she always seemed to have enough. They weren't sure if she won it through games liked the ones she watched, or if she was a very good gambler, but as long as she wasn't involved in anything illegal, they didn't mind. Having been kicked out of her parent's house a year ago because she 'wasn't making anything of her life'- a statement even Midha agreed with- she'd come to the House to live there.

After Midha, Amrita was the next eldest at eighteen. She was the only other person besides Abaca who hadn't lived in Egypt all her life, having moved from India. Her father was a doctor, and he'd come to this country for his work. Beyond that, they knew very little about her, not even why she was living her instead of with her parents. She was a nice, but shy, young woman who many of the local lads were quite intending to marry. She would give them the time of day, just about; politely stating the hours and minutes before going about her business. That business seemed to be studying. She did not go to school either, teaching herself mysterious things up in her neat bedroom. Abaca suspected this yearning for knowledge could have been what had driven Amrita away from home, but she had no real evidence bar a vague instinct.

The next, when listing in age order, was Jalila, but only a little before Abaca herself. Neither of them went to school all that often either. They were quite the house of truants. A resident for the longest, Jalila had dropped out of school in order to follow her athletic aspirations. Tall and skinny, in the midst of training for the nationals, she was the fastest sprinter Abaca had ever met. When they _had _met, she had asked Ghada what a boy was doing living in a girl's dorm. It had taken her a while to decide, but Jalila's hair had been so short she was almost bald, and Abaca had eventually chosen the conclusion that she was male. Word of this must have somehow got back to Jalila, as she grew her hair slightly longer after that.

Ghada had not blamed Abaca for the mistake, she'd done it herself. Although only fourteen, she acted and looked far older, weary from sorting out the exploits of her little sister, Hala. She looked after the mischievous girl, and managed to get them both into school everyday; while Jalila and Abaca averaged two or three days a week, much to Ghada's chagrin. However, despite her plain and brow-beaten appearance, her mind was intelligent and sparkled with creativity. It was no wonder Hala still hadn't grown out of her sister telling her bedtime stories yet- Ghada told them so wonderfully, and they were all her own. It was not uncommon to find most of the other residents lurking outside the sisters' room at night, listening in. Their parents had gone off to live in New Zealand for a year, but neither Ghada nor Hala had wanted to leave Egypt yet. Eventually, their parents relented and allowed them to move into this building. Three years later, they were still here, and their parents were still paying the rent. The girls much preferred living alone, apparently.

"Idiot! Idiot!" Midha screamed suddenly at the television, making Abaca jump sky high. "Don't you know he's got a trap card!" Sure enough, the opposing duellist was triumphantly activating his card, and Abaca knew enough about the game to recognise it as Waboku, but not enough to recognise its master before the picture suddenly fizzled out.

"Must be a power cut." She shrugged. The afternoon light was still finding it's way in, so it wouldn't matter for a good few hours. Midha shot her a look, and Abaca noticed that she was holding the remote control. She'd turned it off. Pigs had flown round the world and past hell, which was frozen over. "Midha…?"

"I can watch no more of this… insult…" she muttered, before suddenly changing the subject- and, indeed, the language, as she continued in her own, rusty English, just to tease her: "Did you find the English Professor?"

"Yeah." Abaca replied, rolling her eyes and refusing to rise to the bait and speak in any language except the local one. "He was standing at the fish stall."

"Is that sarcasm?" Midha asked, back in Egyptian again, her somewhat limited knowledge of the other's language somewhat limited.

"Of course it was." Abaca sighed, looking slightly downcast. "I didn't even get any new leads. No-one had even _heard _of him. Not a sausage. Not a bean." She paused. "Well, except the ones I brought."

Midha put the television back on- _That didn't last long_, Abaca thought- and began to channel flick while absently continuing the conversation. "Never mind. He's just some dusty old English _fossil man_." She saw Abaca draw herself up to her full height, as best she could when sitting down.

"_Professor Bakura_ is _not '_just' anything!" Abaca replied, indignantly. "He's also a doctor of his field! Heralded as one of the best archaeologists of our time! He's responsible for almost _all_ the most recent discoveries of this great sand pit's history! And what about all the papers and theories he's written? You _must _have heard about his thesis on Super powers- he says that-"

"Alright, I get it!" Midha shouted over the continuing torrent. "But you've been looking for so long! What are you even going to do when you find this guy? Marry him?"

"No…" Abaca slunk down in her seat, going slightly red.

"Heh." Midha snorted. "Am-Abaca's marrying a fossil!" She yelled it as a young child would, even stumbling on the name.

"I am _not_! That's just _wrong_!"

Midha snorted again. "Sure. He's rich and famous and you only came to Egypt to find him. So he's a little crusty… But what else would you want with him? Come on, admit it…You want to marry him! He'll die a good thirty or forty years before you, then you'll be in the lap of luxury! You want to marry him, you do, you do, you _do_!" She sang it out.

Abaca stood up. "Midha, you know _nothing_!" She screamed. "Don't pretend to know my personal affairs! You know _nothing _about me! Nothing!" She stormed off, bumping into Ghada on the way, but not speaking to her. Ghada went into the living room and looked questioningly at Midha, who looked rather self-satisfied.

"I love it when I'm right." She smirked.

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While most students were reaching home, Seto Kaiba was reaching work. Domino High held a strictly enforced 'No After School Jobs' policy, but that didn't quite stretch to the young CEO, and even if it did, it wouldn't have made any difference. That was the exact reason the school hadn't bothered _trying_- they'd rather Seto was working with their 'permission' then he was ignoring their rules. He ignored their other rules on a regular basis, but they had an unspoken agreement that if he didn't mention it, neither did they- and if they happened to mention it, they might find a portion of their corporate sponsorship mysteriously disappearing. They were not above bribery, and neither was Seto, who was, at that moment, sorting through the days' letters that were important enough to make it to his desk as opposed to one of his employees'. He flipped through the envelopes, checking they were all worthy of this status and had not slipped in by mistake, and between the bundle of brown and white, he saw the edge of a logo. He paused, frowning, before putting it into the scanner.

Outside, his secretary, a wonderfully efficient woman named Okawa, was typing busily away in her usual fashion at a memo sent to her from the R&D department. Before she could finish, however, Kaiba asked her to come into his office, which immediately gave her two clues that something was about to go terribly wrong. First and foremost, he never had people in his office when he could possibly avoid it, certainly not a lowly secretary. And he never, never_ asked_. He demanded. He commanded. He ordered. He did not ask. Okawa hastily pulled the fountain pen she'd been supplied with out of the desk drawer and concealed it in her pocket. It was a good pen. And she knew what was coming- for whatever reason, (And it didn't have to a big one) she was about to get fired. But, if she was going, she was taking the pen to. He could buy another one.

However, when she went in, she did not get shouted at or fired or any of the other nastiness she'd been expecting. In fact, it was all very calm.

"Ms. Okawa." He stated, formally. "If we get any more letters like this-" He casually flicked a letter up to show her, in a pale yellow envelope with a fairly-standard looking logo on it. "This is what I'd like done." He pushed it into the paper shredder under his desk, which whirred as it happily munched it into pieces. As it did so, Okawa frowned. All letters that went to Mr Kaiba had to go through her, but she couldn't recall seeing that one at all. "Also," he continued, handing her a piece of paper with a picture of the envelope, evidentially printed from his computer, and the same instructions typed on it. "I'd like this photocopied, and posted around the building- particularly in offices that receive post."

"Yes sir." Okawa nodded.

"Thank you." He replied, absently, already speaking as though she wasn't there.

"Sir…" She began, hesitantly. He'd thanked her. He'd never done that before. "Is something the matter?"

"Why haven't you left?" He answered, harshly, snapping back to reality. That was better.

Okawa left, putting the pen back in the draw with some relief.

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"It's not like I'm going forever!" Serenity tried, frustrated.

"No, it's not!" Her mom agreed. "You're not going _at all_!"

"Mom!" Serenity protested. "I just want to see everyone again!"

Her mom snorted. "Your father is dangerous and drunk! And your brother is going the same way! That's some company you keep!"

"He's still my father!" Serenity screamed back. Her usual timid self had gone, its patience worn away over the weeks of this argument, and now it had buckled under the pressure of her temper. She could be just as hot-headed as her brother, when she wanted to be. "It's not like you made me single-handed, mom! Nor Joey! So don't be a hypocrite and stop me visiting him now! Besides, it's _Joey _I want to see! He _saved _my eyesight! Remember? Or have you conveniently forgotten! He did a damn sight more then you did! And so did all the others! My _friends_! So don't you _dare _stop me going just because you're jealous that I want to spend more time with them then with you!"

"Don't speak to me like that…" Her mother hissed. "You don't need to go _there _for friends. You have friends here."

"I do?" Serenity asked. "And here was me thinking that _you _drove them away because you wouldn't let me go out anywhere with them! Not even a sleep over! Well…" She took some deep, shuddering breaths. She couldn't remember being this angry since Kaiba wouldn't stop the blimp when Ryou needed a hospital way back in Battle City. "Well, congrats, 'cause you've not only driven me mad, you've driven _me _away to!" She grabbed the bag she'd packed, originally intended for a short visit, and made for the door, trying not to let her mom see the tears of rage that were trying to break free, like waves beating the prow of a ship in a storm. This was the final straw. For weeks now, they'd been on rocky ground. Serenity wasn't sure what had passed between her and her mother, but her mom seemed a lot more uptight then usual, particularly on the subject of Joey. She'd hated their dad for a long time now. But Joey… just the way she'd said 'your brother', as though she was not connected to him at all. Serenity didn't know what had transformed her mother into such a tyrant, but she didn't like it. Serenity was finally starting to gain confidence, starting to make friends other then the ones her brother had made in Domino, as her mom had always encouraged, and suddenly the woman didn't like it. She was visiting Joey- and her dad. Joey said he was getting loads better, so she'd give him a second chance. She wanted to see Téa and Yugi and Ryou; she even missed Tristan, Duke and Mai. She felt more at home with them then in this stifled place.

"You'd better not set foot out of that door!" Her mom warned. "If you do, I'm not going to chase you! If you leave now, you won't be back!"

"…I'll be at dads." Serenity said, suddenly wanting to cry more then ever, as if the anger was draining out of her in the form of salty water. She ran from the house as fast as she could. Sure enough, her mom didn't follow.

Serenity knew depression could do funny things to people. She could see that her mom was just trying to hold onto her with everything she had. But enough was enough. She was completely over protective, and if it wasn't for school, Serenity probably wouldn't have been allowed to leave the house at all. Even if her dad ignored her, for a while, it would be nice just to have room to breathe.

"I'm sorry, mom!" She yelled back. "I… I don't know what's happened to you, but I have to go!"

The only reply was a string of abuse and the slamming of a door. Serenity continued down the road towards the train station, crying freely now. She didn't want anyone, especially her mom, to speak to her to like that.

"I'm never going back…" Serenity whispered, trying to reassure herself. "I'm never going back…"

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Ryou's eyes flew open, but for a second the images of flames and fire still lingered before them. As his sleep gave way to the darkness of the night, the smell, and the dreadful laughter, faded away to. He shuddered slightly, but he'd had enough nightmares, visions of his past all mixed up and tossed out night after night, to simply accept them as a natural part of his sleep cycle. But both he and his sheets were soaked, and he'd woken too suddenly and too fully to get back to sleep. He climbed wearily out of bed, knowing there was no point staying in it. He considered changing the sheets now, but the flat was cheap and the walls were thin; he was certain the person below him wouldn't appreciate his slightly poor washing machine trundling on at (Here he checked the clock) twenty to four in the morning. He'd slept later then usual.

Mechanically, he stripped the sheets off and simply dumped them on the floor in his cupboard-sized kitchen, ready to be washed in the morning. He made the bed up with the spare set. And yet, he was still too restless to go back to bed. Grabbing a glass of water, he made his way over to the set of stairs in the corner of his living room.

This was the main reason he'd brought this flat, which, despite it's major discounts, was more expensive then some at the other end of town. He alone had rooftop access. And, as he did most nights, he scaled the stairs and moved out into the cool air of the night. Fleeting images of the Spirit of the Ring and of the house burning and burning flickered across his mind, but he stilled them by tipping some of the ice-cold water down his throat. Refusing to think about it, he sat on the ledge at the edge of the building, not at all concerned by the height, and stared out over the city. He couldn't tell if the sky was cloudy or not, really, as even when it was clear the street lamps blotted out the stars. But he could feel it. The wind was picking up on his mood again, trying to push him over the edge, tempting, alluring.

It would be a wonderful night to call the winds to him and go flying…

Ryou stood up, hastily. "No." He whispered to the winds. "You and I… We don't work together anymore. And if I won't do it for other people, I certainly won't do it for myself." He trudged back down the stairs, not even able to find comfort in the night sky. He was tempted to go for a walk, but suspected if he did he'd end up in the sky. When he'd come to Japan, he had promised he would never use his powers. Recently, the temptation had been getting stronger and stronger. He really couldn't trust himself right now. So, then. He wondered what was on television at ten to four in the morning…

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Joey got his attention in the customary way- by hitting him upside the head. Ryou was becoming rather tempted to buy a helmet or hat of some description, if this trend looked likely to continue. Putting down the comic he'd hardly been reading- having seen the _Spiderman _films, he'd suddenly got really into it and was trying to catch up on what he'd missed as a child- he greeted them all, rubbing his head, and, as usual, doing a good job at not looking tired at all.

"Hey…" He said, looking across the pair that had descended on him and disturbed his peace as usual. After sleepless nights, Ryou had got into the habit of getting to school very early through lack of anything else to do. "Where's Téa? And Yugi, for that matter."

"Out there, I think." Tristan replied, indicating the doorway to the classroom. "I think Téa somehow detected this girl who starts today and they went to introduce themselves."

"It's strange that she's not only starting half way through a term, but half way through a week…" Ryou frowned. "I guess she just wants to get stuck in."

"I just hope she's hot." Joey sighed.

"If she is, it won't make any difference to you…" Tristan muttered.

"And what's that supposed to mean!"

"It means that no girl would give you a second look, _especially _not a hot one!"

"Oh, and I suppose _you-_"

Before the fight could escalate into an all-out war, Ryou ducking down in the middle of no-man's land between them, Yugi and Téa entered with who was presumably the new girl, she looked around in interest.

Ryou blinked, telling himself to calm down. It couldn't be. She was still on the other side of the room. So it could quite possibly be a mere look a like. It had to be. After all, what were the chances…?

Téa dragged the hapless look-a-like over and began making introductions. Close to, the girl was staring at Ryou just as he stared at her.

Not a look a like, then.

"Téa?" She said, suddenly. "Could you show me where the toilets are, please? I… I want to go before form starts."

"But you haven't met-" Yugi began, frowning, but the girl seemed desperate as she dragged Téa away, almost running. Ryou sagged back into his chair in shock. The others looked at him in confusion.

"Ryou…?" Yugi began, not failing to notice that she had run the second she'd got over the apparent surprise of seeing him. "Do you… know her?"

"Yes." Ryou answered, quietly. "I believe I do."

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H

_Dreams are the strangest things. They have no bearing on reality, yet they can tell you more about something then you've ever known. They can be good or bad. Mine are usually of the latter, admittedly. Some experts say that they are simply fragments of memories and experiences cobbled together with your imaginings, to allow your mind to 'test drive' different situations and outcomes to decisions. I'm not sure if that's true. Well, saying that, my dreams are usually comprised of different memories put into a blender and spat back out. That's why they're so scary. You see, even though the Ring is gone, and I am no longer trying to be a hero, in my dreams, it's all still there. Still, I almost prefer the bad ones…_

They're _all still there, in the occasional 'good' dream. That's why dreams can hurt so much. In my dreams, I am no longer half. She's still alive, and we're still with my mother. And to wake up and realise that my sister is dead, and my mother is dead, and that it was my fault; to be alone in the darkness, is the worst thing. Dreams can be an escape from reality for some people. For me, they just bring back the reality I want so desperately to get away from. I wish I could just fly away. But I know that if I do, I shall only bring about the past again. So I shall stay firmly on the ground, I think._

_I believe I'm becoming used to these nightmares now. I'm only scared when I'm sleeping. When I'm awake, it's simply routine. Normal._

_My mind is so unhealthy. Not unhappy. Just… unhealthy. So unhealthy, it's rather amusing. Someone up there probably finds it _hilarious. _Probably my sister. She'd tell me to snap out of it, and that would be the end of it. But somehow, it doesn't work quite as well when it's just me telling myself to get over it in the small-hours darkness of my small bedroom._

_I have a vivid imagination- I don't think. I blame the television. You should see the junk that's on cable at ten to four in the morning…_

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A/N: If that was bad, I apologise- most of this was written after eleven at night, at which point my proof-reading gets somewhat… sloppy. Aka, non-existent. Now, I'm not at all sure about the names of the members of the House. (Sounds like Big Brother, doesn't it?) I know very little, admittedly, of modern Egyptian culture, and so I tried to find some Egyptian names. I could not, bar ancient ones. So instead I just used general Arabic ones, in order to get some semblance of realism. Which reminds me- the 'Professor Bakura' mentioned is, of course, not Ryou, but his father. You probably all knew that, but as I'm feeling slow today I assume you all are. Heh… Next time, **A Superhero Story- A White Rabbit**… Stay tuned!


	3. A White Rabbit

A/N: Okay, so it quite literally took all afternoon, but hey! I got this chapter done from scratch today! Gotta love May Day. A day off for NO good reason WHATSOEVER! _(happy happy smiley smiley) _

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, Alice in Wonderland, Spiderman, Daffodils,Star Wars, the numerous Love Hina references or any other things I've written that inadvertedly break copywrite laws. Detailed enough?

Now, I struggled hard to get this done, so here goes!

Two: A White Rabbit

Ryou didn't have to wait for the teacher to introduce their new student to know her name. Penelope Hightman. A name he'd so desperately tried to forget. His past seemed to be jumping up to bite him nowadays…

A seat was allocated to her, right behind Téa, right in the midst of them. Ryou was on the right, followed by Téa, and then Yugi, in the row running to the left. Behind Yugi was Tristan, and behind Ryou was Joey, as the two had not been trusted to sit together. And then, between them, in the middle of them all, was Penelope Hightman. As she slid into the seat, she didn't look at Ryou, and he tried not to look at her. What was he even supposed to say…?

That day was hard on them both. His friends were being their usual helpful selves, making her feel welcome, showing her round, introducing her to the class teachers and generally being good people. Ryou had been to enough schools to know that this would be much appreciated on Penelope's part, provided, of course, that she and Ryou were able to avoid each other like the Plague. It came down to some careful calculations that ensured he left each class either slightly before or after the rest of them. At break time, he saw them approaching, and, after the briefest of conversations- in which Penelope managed to stare at the floor- Ryou managed to make his excuses and leave. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to shake Téa off. He quickened his pace slightly, hoping she would take the hint. She did not, and soon drew level with him.

"Ryou," She began, not beating about the bush. "Are you okay?"

"I… I'm fine." He replied, pulling his usual smile. "And you?"

"Don't give me that." Téa sighed, curling round in front and forcing him to stop. "You've been acting weird all day. All week, to. In fact, you haven't been yourself for ages now…" She looked at him in concern. "What's the matter? Why are you suddenly avoiding us?"

"Nothing's the matter." He lied. "And I'm not avoiding you. As I said, I have to go and return a book to the library."

"Ryou…"

"Téa! Nothing's wrong!"

"But…" She blinked, taken aback at his tone. Ryou never used to speak like that. Even when he had been in possession of- or possessed by, most of the time- the Millennium Ring, he could be relied on for his optimism and general happy disposition. But recently, she was getting more and more of a feeling that it was an act, to stop them worrying. Or to stop them asking questions.

"Really," He insisted, customary smile back in place. "I'm fine." His actions, however, disagreed, as he pushed forcefully past her and headed off in a direction that didn't even lead to the library.

"What has got into him…?" She wondered, worried. Shrugging, she wandered off to find the others. She didn't know what else they could do until he was ready to open up. And knowing how shy Ryou could be, that could take some time.

Ryou waited till he heard Téa's retreating footsteps fade away and then doubled back on himself, sighing deeply. He hated speaking to her like that; it was completely contrasting to the manners that had been beaten into him. More then that, though, it was a friend that was just concerned for his well-being and wanted to help. But this one no-one could help with. It was all such a mess… As he spent that break time hidden in the Library, trying to loose himself amidst the wood of words, he found himself wishing that life could be sorted as easily as the books on the shelves. And memories kept surfacing. Memories of old friends, and old family, and old days that he would give anything to have back and others that he would give anything to make go away. He'd almost been able to forget, and now, despite his best efforts, whenever he saw her, he remembered things that had passed between the four of them, places he and Amane and Jason and Penelope had all been to, what a group they had been…

The bell rang shocking and piercing and loud, and he left the solitude of the books to go and try to bury himself in the mechanics of the cosine rule instead.

The next barrage of questions hit him in the lunch queue, in the form of Joey, burdened with a tray so laden with food that it positively dwarfed Ryou's Cheese-and-cucumber sandwich. Not that he minded. Ryou didn't eat a lot; if he ate at all. But he _did _like cucumber. And cheese. And sandwiches, on that count. It wouldn't take him long to pick up a drink and pay for, either, so maybe if the guy in front was quick enough he'd be able to get through before-

"Yo!" Joey said, from behind him.

"Hello, Joey." Ryou replied, hoping he wouldn't start asking or demanding anything, hoping that Téa had warned him off, but it wasn't to be. In fact, in retrospect, Téa had probably asked someone else to talk to him if he wouldn't open up to her.

"So," Joey began, selecting a cake from the rack while Ryou got a bottle of Oasis from the next counter. "What's bugging you?"

"Huh?" Ryou asked, trying to sound oblivious.

"You're acting all weird and freaky and stuff." Joey explained, as Ryou handed over some money to the dinner lady managing the till, Joey trailing after him.

"Am I?" Ryou asked, innocently, fully intending to find somewhere to sit on totally the opposite side of the canteen to her- To them. "I'm sorry, I haven't meant to."

"Sure." Joey answered, unconvinced. "Look, there they are! And they got two tables together! Excellent… No squashing today!" He cheerily, but forcefully, propelled Ryou against his will across the canteen, eventually forcing him onto one table and sitting on the one behind with Tristan.

"Hi." Ryou said, uncertainly. He was sitting in the worst place imaginable, next to Téa, who was opposite Yugi. Not that they were the problem. Penelope, who was suddenly very interested in her food, was sitting directly across from him.

"Hey!" Téa replied happily, as though she had conveniently forgotten their earlier conversation. "So…" She looked back and forth between Ryou and Penelope, who were avoiding eye contact with each other. "You two know each other?"

"That's right." Ryou answered, monotonously. Neither offered any more elaboration.

"Did you go to the same school?" Téa pressed, confidently ignoring Yugi, who seemed to be trying to discreetly commune that this was a very bad idea indeed. "For a while." Penelope answered this time, stabbing at her pasta as though it had a death wish.

"…I'll bet you have a _load _to catch up on!" Téa enthused. Of course, it was a bit of an act. But she knew Ryou was a great friend, and Penelope seemed to be as well, so she couldn't imagine what the possible cause of their awkwardness was. Probably just shyness. Well, whatever it was, she was sure it would pass if only they'd talk to each other…

"Not really." Penelope said, quickly. She risked sending Ryou a quick look, as though telling him not to try. But he had to. He couldn't carry on like this; it was unfair to his friends. He'd have to face her eventually. Storing up his courage, he looked at her, and spoke.

"So… How have you been?" He asked. Penelope gripped her fork so hard that she practically bent it in two. "…And Jason?" He added, hesitantly.

"Please…" She begged, quietly, anger creeping into her voice. "Don't talk to me, Ryou. I don't want to talk to you."

"If we're at the same school, I think we're going to have to." He pointed out, regretfully.

"I don't want to talk to you!" She repeated, more forcefully. "I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to see you! I don't want to _remember _you! So just stay the hell away from me!"

"Please…" Ryou pleaded softly. "I… I am so, so sorry…"

Penelope's hands clenched into fists, her breathing harsh and ragged. "Don't you dare…" She whispered. Suddenly, the rage took control; she was on her feet, her lunch and drink was all over Ryou. She'd dumped it all over him. "Don't you _dare _say you're sorry!" She screamed, eventually. "How can you say that you're 'sorry'! Just… just stay away from me Ryou…" She turned on her heels and ran out of the room as though it was on fire.

Ryou just sat there, numb, picking Coca-Cola stained pasta shapes from the front of his shirt, which was now sticking rather unpleasantly to him. He'd probably have to replace his uniform, which was not a good prospect- his funds were almost drained dry. And he didn't like to use the account unless he had to; it was only a matter of time till he was discovered. Perhaps the stains could be removed at the dry cleaners…

He slowly became aware that he was in a canteen surrounded by people who were just beginning to start muttering again. Not good.

"Dude, what did you do?" Tristan asked, sounding awed, from behind him.

"He didn't do anything!" Téa answered, instantly leaping to his defence. But she didn't sound totally convinced. "He only asked how she was!"

"That's right." Yugi agreed. Ryou frowned, unable to stand the fact that his friends were on his side despite the fact they had no idea what was going on.

Joey snorted. "_Ryou_, of all people, does not get pasta dumped on him for asking how a girl is." He leaned in towards Ryou. "D'you two have a history that we should know about?"

"Not really." Ryou replied, through gritted teeth.

"Awww, come on…" Joey wheedled. "What'd you do? I bet you dumped her, didn't you?"

"Joey!" Ryou snapped, standing up. "Why don't you-!" He bit back on the insult that was dying to slide out. He couldn't take it out on Joey… "Look, just… just shut up." He finished, irritably, before leaving the canteen to. His friends stared after him, and then Joey and Tristan moved to fill the vacated seats.

"Guys…" Yugi said, slowly. "I think we might have a problem."

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Serenity came out of the exam room with a smile on her face. Despite spending all of last night on a train, and most of the day visiting various schools, she had found one that had accepted her, and a bonus was that it was only about twenty minutes walk from Domino High. She would have liked to go to Domino High, but there were no places there. Ah well. Hinata High may have done slightly longer hours then the other schools in the area, but the results showed that it paid off. The school was famous nation wide for it's excellent achievements and facilities. The entrance exam that Serenity had just sat, alone in a small classroom, was difficult and highly contested- she was lucky that the pass rate that year had been very low, and so there was plenty of room for her if she could make the grade.

At first, with no preparation done, she had been worried she wouldn't be able to make it. The five questions, she'd been informed, came from across a wide range of subjects, selected randomly by a computer for each exam paper, and demanded full essay-style answers of about a page in length. When the first one had been to explain why Iron, Tin and Copper were extracted using carbon, she had felt very worried indeed. But she had written in a logical order- first by talking about the general extraction methods, and then adding her theory as to why Carbon was used as opposed to Hydrogen; which would work equally well and more cleanly. With a few symbol equations to help show that it would be more expensive to produce the same amount of pure copper using hydrogen, she moved onto question two; suddenly very glad she'd paid attention in Chemistry after all.

Question Two was a dodgy one, asking her about how realistic the themes in _Twelfth Night _wereThe problem was, she had never studied the play. However, she _had _seen a modern film that was a very poorly done rip-off, and, more helpfully, the hilarious time when Joey was in his last year at Elementary school and his class had been forced to perform it, him in the part of Sir Toby Belch. She was certain none of the students, including those performing, had any idea of what they were talking about at the time, but it came back to haunt her now. Piecing the fragments together, she wrote as best she could about how twins could be distinguished from each other, unrequited love, and yellow cross-gartered stockings without actually mentioning the play; and hoped desperately that she could make up the score on the other questions.

The hoping paid off as Question Three simply presented a list of ballets and asked how successful the choreographers and composers had been in telling a story without using any words. Serenity had got lucky- the very last time she'd come to town had been to watch Téa perform in her Dance School's recital of _Swan Lake. _She wrote on the subject quickly and easily, name-dropping people she'd learnt about from Téa wherever possible in the hopes that it would get her extra marks.

You could certainly tell the questions had been 'randomly selected from a database on the school network', because Number Four was another about Literature; this time asking her to describe Lewis Carroll's use of the Cheshire Cat in _Alice in Wonderland, _and the effect it had on the reader. Serenity grinned much like the Cheshire Cat herself. She _loved _Alice in Wonderland. In fact, she had written several things on the subject; so this was no problem. Feeling confident again, she flipped over to Question Five, to the worst scenario imaginable.

'_Define and give abbreviations for the following musical terms:-' _it read _'Largo, adagio, andante, vivace, alla marcia, calmato, dolce, mezzo forte, amoroso, risoluto.'_

Serenity knew _nothing _about music, and musical terms may as well have been Greek to her- although, of course, they were all Italian. Sighing deeply, she had leant back slightly in her chair, wondering which school she should try next. In doing so, she noticed the poster about Music from Around the World on the wall behind her. As she glanced around, there were music displays and posters _everywhere. _They'd seated her in an empty music classroom, and the answers that she needed were pinned to the walls. The moderator had no reason to suspect she was cheating- after all, she was the only one there, who could she be cheating _from_? Besides, it wasn't cheating. It was showing initiative.

And so, Serenity completed what was possibly the weirdest Entrance Exam ever, and left with good marks, a place in the school, an address of a shop from which she could buy her new uniform; and a smile. She would show her mom yet. She was perfectly capable of making it on her own.

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Penelope washed her face as best she could from one of the grimy taps, not brave enough to fill the sink, but it made no difference. Her eyes remained red, and you could tell she had been crying. Whether they had been tears of rage or of something else, she wasn't sure. He was supposed to be dead. She could have dealt with that. She didn't mind him being dead. But no, here he was, alive and kicking and on the other side of the planet.

Not that she wanted to kill him. It just would have been so much… easier if he had been dead after all. Why did he have to be here? Why here, why now, why _him_? Anyone else that she used to know would have been just fine. Amane would have been fine. But not him. Just seeing him made her blood boil. Just thinking that he was probably in the room next door, trying to clean his uniform, made her mad. He had no right to be going about life like he had not a care in the world. She hoped it was irreparably stained. She hoped it conveyed just how much she hated him, but wasn't sure if that was possible. She had been glad when he'd been so anxious to avoid her. She had hoped he would stay out of her way and she might have been able to refrain from… dumping her lunch all over him. And now she was hungry, to. What a jerk.

"Way to go, Penny…" She muttered, drying her face on her blazer sleeve, as it was the only cloth readily available. "Not even a full day in, and you've lost your temper. What _are _people going to think of you?" She closed her eyes tight, hoping to blank Ryou and everyone else out of her mind. It didn't work. He'd ruined her life once, and, just as she and her family began to pick the pieces back up, he was back for a second go. It just wasn't fair…

"Penelope…?" Téa said tentatively from the doorway. Penelope couldn't help but smile a little. Evidentially, Téa was the sort of person who wanted to be friends with everyone, and for everyone to be friends. Amane was just like that to.

"Hi, Téa."

They stood for a moment, awkward, silent.

"Well?" Penelope asked eventually, arms folded across her chest. "Did he tell you what that was about?"

Téa, looking slightly wary, shook her head.

"Somehow, I didn't think he would."

"Um…" Téa began, hesitantly. "I don't know you very well, Penelope, but… Well. I _do _know Ryou, and he really is a good person." Penelope looked at her, waiting for her to finish. "So… I… um… I don't know what happened between you two, but I'm sure that if you gave him a chance you'd find he's a good friend."

"Yeah?" Penelope asked, moving towards the door. "I thought that once to." Téa looked at her in confusion. "Class is about to start." Penelope continued. "We'd better get back…"

Téa lead the way in silence, not daring to say anything more. This time, she probably didn't want to know.

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Meanwhile, in the gents toilets, Ryou was absently rinsing the left hand side of his blazer. It was too big for the sink, so he could only wash one side at a time- although it didn't seem to be working very well. Perhaps the royal blue would always remain orange and brown. He had changed his school shirt for his PE one, hoping none of the teachers would notice between now and the end of the day, but he didn't have a spare blazer, and if he didn't wear it, he'd be in trouble. And so, he rinsed and washed as best he could despite how futile it all was.

As he did so, he wondered about things. He wondered if the stains would ever come out. He wondered where he would get a new blazer from if they wouldn't. He wondered if Jason had come to, and how he was. Judging by Penelope's feelings towards him, not too well. He wondered if she missed Amane as much as he did. He wondered if he'd ever have chance to ask her without being hit by the heaviest projectiles she could find. He wondered why nothing happened for a year or so, and then everything happened at once. He wondered when life had become so very complicated.

"Hey, Ryou?" Yugi's head appeared round the door from the corridor. "Um… class is about to start…"

Ryou glanced at his watch, sitting on the side so it wouldn't get wet. To his surprise, the bell to signal the end of lunch really was about to go. "Oh… Alright. Thank you." He replied. Yugi left again, and Ryou removed his soggy blazer, wringing it out- which didn't make a blind bit of difference- and put it back on, dampness and all. The stains were as obvious as ever. He felt this description was beginning to fit his life. Sighing, he put his watch back on, and painted a smile on his face- ready to find the whole ordeal quietly amusing.

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The straw slurped noisily as he fought to get the dregs out of the bottom of the plastic milkshake container. And it wasn't just Joey. After a second, Tristan joined in and they had slurping in Stereo. Téa eyed them in slight distaste, and Yugi tried to look like he didn't know them; which was hard, given the fact that the four were seated around the same table in the local McDonalds. They _had _wanted to go to Burger World, but Téa was adamant that she would never go back there. So here they were. And the topic of discussion was, naturally, Ryou's sudden mood swing.

"I am kinda worried about him…" Yugi admitted. "His personality's done a U-Turn."

Téa nodded in agreement. "And it's not just since Penelope arrived, either. It kinda makes you realise how little we actually know about him…"

"I thought that to." Yugi said, looking slightly downcast. "It's just that from the moment he got here, we had the Ring to deal with, and one thing was followed by another, and another… I guess we never really asked him about himself."

"So you're saying we don't know him at all?" Tristan asked, eyes narrowed. "That he probably _deserved _to have pasta chucked all over him?"

"Of course not!" Téa answered, looking appalled at the idea. "I just meant we don't know much about his _past. _Like Penelope. He never mentioned her. In fact, I don't think he's ever mentioned _anyone… _Has he to you guys?"

They shook their heads.

"Well," Joey put in. "I still think he dumped her. It looked an awful lot like a lovers' tiff to me!"

"I don't think so…" Téa shook her head, slowly. "I think there's more to it then that. I just don't know what…"

"The way I see it," Joey began, stubbornly. "They- Whaa!"

"Whaa…?" The other three chorused in confusion.

"It's Serenity!" Joey yelled, stabbing a finger in the direction of the window. "What's she doing here!"

Yugi and Téa swivelled, with Tristan peering over their heads. One of the people walking past outside was, without any doubt, Serenity. They came to the conclusion that the best way to answer Joey's question would be to ask Serenity herself, and so, they ran out of the restaurant to catch her up.

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As the days passed, Ryou's apparently natural optimism reasserted itself, until he was almost himself again. His friends were relieved- whatever had been getting him down was apparently over and done with. After the rocky start, Ryou and Penelope had developed a working relationship- they ignored each other wherever possible. Penelope ignored Ryou because if she didn't she would end up losing it again, and next time it might be something worse then a blazer that had to go to the dry cleaners'. Ryou ignored Penelope because he knew that was what she wanted, and he owed her that. But it still hurt. He wished, sometimes, that he could talk to her about the old times…

But it was alright. Ryou's walk home brought him past the Hinata High School, usually just as the students were being allowed out. And, recently, Serenity had started there. While Joey had a far more direct route from his school back to his flat, Serenity had to circle all the way round due to the canal and a railway that wound around it. This took her Ryou's way, and, he had to admit, while had at first been dubious about having company at a time he was used to spending alone, he enjoyed walking with her. She was intelligent and funny, and about as shy as he was. Sometimes they barely said more then hello and goodbye to each other. Sometimes they'd be so deep in conversation that they'd pass right past where Serenity turned off and she'd have to go back on herself. But, most importantly, it distracted him. Usually, in that mile or two that he walked alone, he would end up thinking about before, mistakes he'd made, people he'd left behind or that had left him, and sometimes that was just too much to bear. The company stopped these sombre thoughts, and that was in no way a bad thing.

Serenity enjoyed the walks home to. At first, she had been a little concerned about walking home alone on unfamiliar streets, but ever since she had bumped into Ryou on her way back after the first day, and he'd insisted on showing her the way when she expressed her uncertainty, she'd been doing just fine. It had even got her talking to people- she was the 'new girl', she didn't know anyone, and apart from some people who were merely trying to be friendly out a sense of decency, Ryou seemed to be a real conversation started. Everyone wanted to know who the guy who met her every night was. From this, she had got over her shyness and was now embarking on several new friendships that she was certain would only grow over time. He knew all about them- not why they got talking, but whatever- and everyday, when he politely inquired how her day had been in his customary way, she'd tell him all about everything. He'd changed schools a lot to. He knew what she was talking about.

Plus, when she had company, she wouldn't have to think about the parent she'd left behind, or the one she was going back to. Not that she saw her dad all that often. When Joey had said their dad was 'better then he was', he'd been speaking the truth- he rarely said or did anything to Joey now. In fact, when their dad was in, they made every effort to be out, and when he was out, they would be in. She wasn't even sure if he knew she was there. But she knew that she couldn't go back. She wouldn't.

Just as Ryou turned the corner onto the road holding the school, he faintly heard the bell signalling the end of the day ring. Hinata High was an impressive place, the fence high and the posts made of black marble. In time with the bell, the massive iron gates were sliding open, the double H insignia splitting in half. He and Serenity agreed that, posh as it was, it was also slightly chintzy. Inside the grounds were neat paths and a front lawn that made it look more like a Manor House- and indeed, it was a converted one- then a school, all red brick and windows with the shutters thrown open. What had once been the Front Door opened, and the students spilled out, nowhere near as ordered and civilised as the building and the prospectus suggested. Ties were loosed before even reaching the gates; students trampled directly across the carefully maintained lawns, girls in groups and boys in gangs. Some got out as fast as they could, and others took a quick detour to speak to someone before he left. Some girls even sat down in the corner of one of the lawns and started eating. But he couldn't see Serenity among them…

There she was, hopping down the stone steps and still trying to switch her indoor shoes for her outdoor ones while balancing the brown briefcase-esque monstrosity Hinata called a 'bag'. She'd had to buy both specially- the regulation black outdoor shoes and the soft brown ones that were more like slippers so they wouldn't damage the old wooden floorings, as well as the bag. She had told him that inside, the wooden floors were highly polished, that some rooms were made entirely of marble fittings, that the ceilings were painted Sistine-chapel style and that some of the rooms still had stuffed animals in them. Ryou wasn't sure which apparent features he believed were true. Whatever it had been in the past, the Hinata Estate was now Hinata High, and would have been converted to do that job. One thing was for sure- he was more bothered by the stuffed animals then she was. He didn't care _how _much she teased him, they were darned creepy…

She saw him and waved, quickening her pace but then slowing down as someone called her. The two girls were dressed identically, in their school uniforms; and they looked far smarter then Ryou's own still-slightly-orange-in-places blazer. The uniform itself was a black blazer, with a flattened collar and Hinata's double H crest on the breast pocket. It was quite long as well, falling just short of where the knee-length pleated skirts ended. Between this was a white shirt, and a dark blue tie that was worn short as opposed to full length, again with the school crest on the knot. One thing was for sure, they wanted people to know where these kids were from. Above the shoes Serenity had now managed to get on were white socks, as per school regulations. They even insisted that anyone with long hair had it tied up while in school, and so everything from pigtails to buns to ponytails bobbed around on the back of people's heads. That was why Ryou knew he could never go to Hinata High. He hated tying his hair up.

"Hi!" Serenity said, cheerily, finally reaching him. The second she got out of the gate, she pulled the band out of her hair and let it fall free.

"Hello." Ryou replied, calmly. "Good day?"

Serenity sighed, blowing strands of her hair out of the way as they began walking along. "It was alright. I get on fine there. It's dead posh, though." She rolled her eyes. "I quite find myself talking like this!" She added, in her best upper-class accent. Ryou looked at her with such suspicion that she felt slightly off put. "What?"

"Well, that sounded very like your brother's impression of how _I _speak!" He said, indignantly. "Are you mocking me?"

"No…" Serenity replied, uncertain, not sure if he was joking or not. He just smiled, which was no indication whatsoever.

"I wandered lonely as a cloud." He said, suddenly. Now he'd lost her.

"What?"

"The sky." He said, by way of explanation. "The clouds are wandering…"

"Sure." She laughed slightly, used to him being random.

"But the question is, where's the comma?" He mused. "Is it 'I wandered lonely as a cloud', or 'I wandered, lonely as a cloud'? Is he the lonely one, or is the cloud?"

"Good question…" Serenity answered, thinking about it. He did that. He'd say something random and you'd think about something you'd never thought about before. Like if clouds were lonely.

"And here's another good question." Ryou continued. "Cyclops, in the X-Men. Why is he called Cyclops if he's got two eyes? And how do those glasses stop the lasers? And when he shuts his eyes, why aren't the lids burnt shut?"

"…That was several good questions." Serenity shrugged. "And, having never seen X-men, I have no answers."

"Ah well. Life goes on."

"I have a good question." She said, just as suddenly. "Can you imagine Mai as the Queen of Hearts?"

"Yes." Ryou said, completely unfazed. "And I always thought Yugi would make a very good Dormouse in the teapot."

"That's just what I thought!" Serenity agreed happily. She was happy. One of her favourite pass-times was imagining little parodies of famous books and films for people she knew to fill the roles. She hadn't ever told anyone about them before. She thought she'd be laughed at- it _was _a strange thing to think about, certainly. But she had taken a gamble with someone who seemed to have an equally erratic thought pattern, and it had paid off.

They continued discussing _Alice in Wonderland _casting; with Téa as Alice, and Joey as the Mad Hatter, and Tristan as the March Hare, Duke as the Cheshire Cat, Kaiba as the grumpy caterpillar, and Rex as Tweedle Dum with Weevil as Tweedle Dee. It had took some debate as to which one of the duellists should be which Tweedle, but he had conceded to her point eventually.

"You _have _to be the White Rabbit." She giggled, eying his hair.

Ryou sighed deeply. "Oh, surprise." He said, but then obligingly added "I'm late! I'm late!"

Serenity laughed, but it petered out as she came to a realisation. "Oh…"

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"There's no-one left for me to be…"

"Of course there is." Ryou smiled. "It's obvious which part you are."

"It is?" Serenity asked, puzzled. She had read the book many times, and she couldn't think of any more characters, at least not of any significance…

"Yes." Ryou nodded, seriously. "You're the Narrator."

She stared and he just smiled as he always did until she shook her head in exasperation. "Fine… I'm the Narrator, then. What next?"

"It'll have to wait." Ryou replied. "I've just realised something."

"What?"

"We've walked past your turn off again. Opps-a-daisy."

Serenity sighed, waved, and turned around. She could hear him laughing to himself as she walked away. But she'd have the last laugh. Whenever she needed to, she could envision him with bunny legs and an oversized pocket watch, hopping himself into a flap.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

This time, Ryou was prepared for the attack, and greeted Joey before the boy could hit him round the head from behind like every other morning.

"Hey, Ryou." He checked around to make sure no-one was listening in, but only about half of the students had arrived and the classroom was almost empty. "I need a favour…"

"Well, I'll help if I can…" Ryou answered quietly, putting Spidey down for the moment.

"Serenity." He said, sounding worried. "You know she's run away from our mom's, right?"

Ryou nodded. He'd guessed.

"She seems really serious about it, to." Joey continued. "The school, and now she's planning to get into the house while mom's at work to get the rest of her stuff…"

Ryou said nothing, not sure where this was going. Surely, Joey _liked _having his only sister around…?

"But all it's gonna take is my dad to get home early one night and…" Joey trailed off. "I don't want her mixed up in all that. And my mom… she always liked 'Ren better- said I was too much like _him_." He snorted. "They're close- or they _were_. I don't want her chucking all that away."

"No." Ryou agreed, as it seemed to be a good time to same something.

"So I wondered if you would talk to her." Joey said, finally. "She just tells me that she doesn't want to talk about it. But if _you _ask her- y'know, you're not family, so she has to be polite- I thought maybe you'd…"

"I'll try." Ryou promised, saving him from saying any more. Just then, Penelope arrived, and so he hid back in the pages of the Marvel-illustrated book.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Darth Vader."

"Kaiba!"

"Obi Wan."

"Um… Ishzu. Even if she is the wrong gender."

"C3PO."

"Tough one…" Ryou pondered. "Téa."

"Are you suggesting _Téa's _whiny and annoying?" Serenity quizzed, having heard his earlier opinion on the android.

"Of course not." He said, innocently. "Carry on."

"Right. Yoda."

"It _has _to be Grandpa Motto." Ryou said, without hesitation.

Serenity giggled and they subsided into a companionable silence. Serenity knew he was only just starting to get more chatty, was making a real effort at it, and so she didn't push him if he thought the conversation was over. However, this time, he spoke first.

"Serenity…" He said, carefully. "What are you doing here?"

She blinked. "What are you asking?"

"Why you're here." He repeated. "Not that I don't enjoy your company… it's just we have to wonder why you left home so suddenly."

"I… I had a bit of an argument with my mom." Serenity said, eventually, not at all sure if she wanted to tell him. "Well, a lot of an argument. She was trying to control my life."

"That's what mothers do." Ryou pointed out. "Are you sure she wasn't thinking in your best interests…?"

"I know she was." Serenity sighed. "But she was trying to hide me away from the world. She didn't want me to leave her side, like it wasn't safe to be alone… I just had no space to be me. When it got to the point that she wouldn't let me make friends either, I just… I had to get out of there."

"I think I would have done to." Ryou surprised her by saying. "Still… if she's only thinking about you, don't you think that's the most important thing?"

"No." Serenity shook her head, holding her briefcase-bag close to her, like an infant with a teddy. "It had gone past the point of over-protective love into obsessive, paranoid behaviour. She wouldn't even let me go down to the shops. I think she was worried I'd be kidnapped. Or that I'd run away."

"And then you _did _run away." Ryou pointed out, mildly. "So she wasn't that far off."  
"I guess not…" Serenity agreed. "But… I _had _to go. I was going crazy. She already was crazy. It was scary… My mom's gone in the head…" She looked at him imploringly. "That was part of the reason, to. Maybe if I wasn't there, she could get herself back together."

"I see." Ryou said, softly. "So, when is it going to be time to phone her? To go home?"  
"It's not home." Serenity stated, coolly. "And it's never going to be time to go back. I can't go back, Ryou, I just… can't."

"Okay." He said, simply. His tone held no judgement or accusations, but she felt them anyway, swelling from the uncertainty inside her.

"You live alone to, right?" she pointed out. "So you're even worse then I am! At least I'm with family!"

"You're quite right." He nodded. "But I would _love _to live with my family. More then anything."

"Then… why…?" Serenity asked, slowly.

Ryou swallowed. He supposed, as she had opened up to him, he should tell her. "I used to live in England." He began. "All over England, really. We had to keep moving because… That is, my mom, and Amane, and I."

"Who's Amane?" Serenity asked, carefully.

"She was my twin sister." Ryou said, smiling to cover the painful memories. "My other half. You would have liked her a lot, I think. But… well, I was out, and when I got home, the fire fighters were putting out the last of the blaze. I saw my mother's body being lifted out of the wreckage of the stairs. She was dead before they got her into the ambulance- she was gone, and our house had gone, and Amane was gone…" He bit his lip slightly. "And I just ran away. I didn't know what else to do." He shuddered a little. "My dad was- still is- alive somewhere. I just have to find him. He was- he is- an archaeologist of some eminence. And ever since Amane and I were born, they started putting money into accounts for us to use when we were grown up… Of course, I needed it a little sooner. I know my dad had close links to the museum here in Domino, his home town, so I came here hoping…"

"Hoping to find him." Serenity finished. Ryou nodded.

"So far, no luck." He shrugged, making out it was much less of a deal then it really was. "So I've built a life here. But sometimes I wonder if he even knows that mom and Amane…"

"Oh…" Serenity sighed. What _could _be said to that? Joey had never told her. Maybe he didn't even know. It didn't seem like the sort of thing Ryou would broadcast. "…Thanks for telling me." She said, eventually. "And it worked."

"Worked?" he asked, confused.

"I'll give my mom another chance, as she's still here." Serenity said, looking at the floor. "It hardly seems fair that you want to see your family but can't, when I'm being so pig-headed about my mom…" She shuddered slightly at the thought of seeing the Wicked Witch of the West again. But she'd try. "Just not yet." She added. "I'm not ready to go back yet. But I will, one day. I promise."

"Thank you." Ryou said, with nothing else to be said. Actions spoke louder then words, and, rather then offering empty consoling statements, she had taken it into account and very quickly got things back into perspective. That was more then anyone had ever done.

"Do you miss them?" Serenity asked, quietly.

"Dreadfully." Ryou admitted. "I try not to think about them to much."

"But you should think about them!" Serenity protested, loudly. "When you loose someone close to you, you should think about them everyday! Not to get sad because they're not around anymore; but if you loved them that much you need to think about them! You owe more to them then to just _forget_! You need to remember the good times, and when things are bad, remember that things were better and will be better again! And if you went to them for advice, you need to wonder what they would say! If you went to them for help on homework, you need to remember what they taught you!"

Ryou looked a little taken aback.

"If they were that close to you, you can't just wipe them out of your life. People that are close to you _change _your life. You can't just ignore them after they're gone anymore then you would when they were alive. The only way they're still here is through _you_, and your memories, and the way you do as they showed you." Serenity concluded. "At least, that's what my granddad told me when my grandma died…"

Ryou didn't say anything for a long time, and they continued walking along in silence, as he stared at the pavement. Serenity wondered if she had overstepped the line, but really, he was just mulling it over. He had pushed the memories aside as best they could, because they hurt so; but they just kept bubbling back up to the surface. Would it really be so bad to let them come…? It would hurt a lot. But he should be able to deal with that now, when he had so much going for him. Maybe he shouldn't try to forget.

"You know…" he said, as they reached their time to separate. "I think that's quite possibly the best advice I've ever had. Bar my mom telling me not to play with the electric drill."

"I think I maybe got the best advice I've ever had to." Serenity replied. "Including the time when my brother told me that if I left drawing pins around an anthill, the ants would come out and use them as umbrellas in the rain."

They parted, both heading home, both with a lot to think over.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The phone rang out into the office, piercing and intrusive. He really needed to get one that wasn't quite so loud… Seto Kaiba picked up, expecting to hear the voice of Okawa telling him it was so-and-so from the such-and-such department of the-I-couldn't-care-less company. But the voice at the end of the line was defiantly not Okawa's.

"Yes?" He barked.

"A nice tone to answer with, Seto." He chirruped. Seto knew that voice. "I'd be quite offended if we didn't need you."

"Hang up." Seto commanded, recovering. "Right now, and never ring this number again."

"Oh, but we have so much to catch up on!" The man continued. Seto slammed the receiver down. Immediately, it began ringing again. Seto did not answer. It did not stop. Seto ignored it. It did not stop. The answering machine didn't cut in. It still didn't stop. Eventually, Seto forced the cord from it's socket in the wall. That stopped it.

But he was fairly sure it wouldn't stop them. And he would be ready for them.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_A good question is 'Can blind people see in their dreams?', and, as always, the answer is not a definite one. If the person was born blind, they cannot. If they once had the use of their eyes, then in some dreams they will._

_'To see', however, is the very most ambiguous word. See what? To see physically what's in front of you? To see through people? To see with the mind's eye? To see what others do not?_

_Serenity came very close to losing her eyesight once. But I get the feeling that even if she had, she would have seen far more then I do. She thinks in a way different to my own. Compared to her, I feel positively blind._

_I had never looked on remembering people in that way before. But perhaps it really is time I stopped shutting my eyes on the past, and admitted that it's there._

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A/N: My apologies for the rushed ending. Mine sister was going to bed, so I had to finish fast. _(Sweatdrop) _She's not ALWAYS in bed, I promise... Actually, I ought to go soon. So... Rhetorical questions? Okay. What does Penelope have against Ryou? Will the sauce ever come out of his Blazer? Who would play Hans Solo? Find out- well, some of them- in the next chapter- **A Superhero Story Chapter Three- A Villian...**


	4. A Villian

A/N: Well, here we are again, eh? I don't have much to say about this one, except that I found it really hard to write little kids. _(Sweatdrop) _Also, please forgive any errors- I'm having my hair cut in about two minutes and want to get this posted before then, so I haven't proof-read. Again. Still! At least it's an update. ;-) And quite a large one, to, if I do say so myself. And to think- I cut half the material out of this chapter…

Disclaimer: I am not Kazuki Takahasi, Marvel, DC, or anyone else that owns anything well-known that I have inadvertedly mentioned.

Three: A Villain

Penelope swung through the front door, kicking her shoes off as she slammed it shut. It was good to be home, even if it had only been home for a fortnight. She was still having trouble with adjusting to it all. But if it could help, it would all be worth it.

She shoved her shoes into the rack waiting for them, running up the stairs before her mom could come and quiz her about her day. She ran into her room, throwing her bag and her blazer carelessly onto the floor before slamming out again and into the room next door.

"Jason!" She cried, running in and jumping onto the bed. "I'm home. But I don't know how much longer I can do this… Mom doesn't know _he's _here. But I know it, you see, and when he's there _everyday_… Of all the schools in Japan, he had to be at this one. He just sits there, like a constant reminder that… that I can't ignore. He doesn't even seem to care! Even in the RE test today. He came top, Jay. Top! And they were all praising him! He took all the credit, he didn't even _mention _you. All that help you used to give him, to. He really… I really… I just can't stand to look at him!" She made a noise in frustration. "I came second, but… but… he did this to you, Jay. I can't stand to think he's got _no _punishment. I don't understand… I just don't get how the world can be so screwed!" She sighed deeply. "Don't worry. I'll stick with it. I won't have another pasta incident. I can't let mom know, right? And I can't give her anything else to deal with, either. Especially with Dad working nights…"

"Penny!" Her mom yelled from downstairs, not worrying about waking her husband- the roof could cave in and he wouldn't stir. "Would you get down here, and inform your mother of the day's events rather then exclusively your brother?"

"I'd better go." Penelope sighed, patting his hand. "I'll see you later."

He didn't reply. He didn't respond. He never did.

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_It was a very small nursery, but to children of their age it seemed enormous. Their mom had gone, left them when they hadn't been looking, and the other children were looking at them. One dropped the dinosaur he'd been playing with and walked over._

_"You look the same." He accused. Ryou nodded._

_"It's 'cause we're twins." Amane explained, with an air of importance. "You know what twins are?"_

_"Yeah!" He protested, wrinkling his nose. "You're two people that look like one! You're weird."_

_"We're not!" Ryou protested. _

_"No, we're not!" Amane agreed. "We're special."_

_"No!" He shouted back. "They're twins to!" He pointed over to the other corner of the room before returning back to his dinosaur. Amane walked over to where he'd pointed, Ryou following hurriedly after her. Two children, a girl and a boy, were sitting and attempting to build a large tower of bricks which promptly fell over. The two giggled, while the girl yelled that now they'd have to start all over again._

_"Hello." Amane said, getting their attention. "We're twins." The pair gasped, staring back at them._

_"Hello." The boy replied. "We're twins to!"_

_"But, but…" The girl interrupted. "I'm older!"_

_"I'm older to!" Ryou said, amazedly. All four were marvelling at this startling revelation- that other people were twins to. "I've never met _other_ twins before!" However, Amane's interest was not held for that long, and so she thumped down on the mat._

_"I'm gonna make a _big _tower." She said, decisively, pulling the blocks over._

_"Hey!" The boy protested. "We were using those!"_

_"Now I'm using them." Amane replied, comfortably, as Ryou shuffled guiltily behind her._

_"Well…" The girl considered. "My mommy says if you're friends, you share…" _

_"We'll be your friends." Amane dismissed, piling up her tower regardless of the boy's anger. "My name's Amane."_

_"That's a strange name." The boy commented._

_"Mine's Ryou!" Ryou put in, anxious not to be left out any longer. He went and sat next to his sister._

_"You've got nice names." The girl said. "Mine's Penelope."_

_"My name's Jason." Her brother informed them, sounding proud._

_"See?" Amane said, triumphant. "Now we're friends."_

_"Forever?" Penelope checked, suspicious._

_"Okay." Amane agreed. "Like _my_ mommy says: Forever and ever and ever…"_

_"Amen!" The others completed, seriously._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Harry."

"Gotta be Yugi."

"Indeed. Ron?"

"Joey. Duh."

"And Hermione? As if I couldn't guess?"

"Téa."

"Wait a minute." Ryou smiled at her. "What about this implied relationship between Ron and Hermione…?"

"Are you suggesting _my brother_ and _Téa_…" Serenity trailed off, her own thoughts, her perception of reality, warping and twisting and boggling at this new concept. She decided to move swiftly on. "Draco Malfoy- Seto Kaiba!"

Ryou smiled slightly, the closest he ever came to a laugh, but then added: "You really shouldn't be so harsh on him all the time. You'll end up like your brother."

Serenity considered, her head on one side. "I guess…"

"I always thought Joey was a little like Kaiba himself." Ryou said, in a tone that, once again, left her unsure as to whether he was serious or not. "They're both stubborn and a little pig-headed at times, the temper, the fierce loyalty to their loved ones…"

Serenity snorted. "Yeah, that's true, but you forget that Kaiba is an arrogant jerk who could never love anyone except his work and his brother, has a heart carved out of ice, and could single-handedly fix global warming- and I _don't _mean because he's a genius."

"Well…" Ryou pondered. "I guess it's not really for us to say. We don't really know Kaiba at all. But I _do _know your brother, and… I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell him I compared him to Kaiba."

"Don't worry about it." Serenity shrugged. "It's not even like you said anything bad." They continued amiably along, the overcast sky and damp air having no bearing on their spirits. "…I would like to be more like Joey, though." She said hesitantly. "I mean, he's so brave, and confident. Everyone automatically loves him- he has no problems making friends. So he's stubborn and volatile and can be a little dense, sometimes; but sometimes I think…" She sighed. "That if I could be a little more like him, then I would… I'd be a different person."

"You don't need to be a different person." Ryou dismissed. "I don't think you have a problem with confidence…"

"And I don't think you have one." Serenity pointed out. "It's fine when we're just talking to each other, but around other people I…"

"Freeze up." Ryou completed. "I guess that's just something we'll have to work on. I've been getting better since… Amane always did the talking."

"Ryou…" She said, carefully. "I wanted to ask you, what was it like? Being a twin?" She looked away, a little sheepish. "It's just, when you're a kid, you always want a twin…"

"Heh." Ryou smiled slightly, though his eyes looked sad. Even happy memories hurt to remember for him. "Well… I don't know how to explain. Not the same as any other brother or sister. Not the same as a friend…" He paused, thinking. "Western mythology is always about good triumphing over evil; but it's a lot more like Eastern mythology- it's always about balance. Chaos and order, light and darkness, yin and yang…" He paused again. "I'm not saying Amane and I were good and evil, I'm just saying… that it's about balance. Two parts of the same thing- you don't get one without the other. Even when we got a little older, and started leading lives a little more separate… She was the confident one. The talkative one. So when I had to make my own way without her… It was like being a ghost, only being half there."

"I see…" Serenity mused over this. "But… I bet it was nice. To have someone so close to you."  
Ryou merely nodded.

"Well, this is me…" Serenity said, as they reached her turn off.

"I'll be accompanying you a little further today." Ryou replied. "I need to go food shopping. At the moment I'm living off ham, cheese, and bread."

"Wow, sounds like fun."

"Yes, you'd be amazed at just how versatile bread is…" Ryou answered, his smile back in place. "Now then. Dumbledore."

"…Professor Hawkins."

"Hagrid?"

"Why are you making these so hard…? I don't know!"

"I'm going to have to hurry you…"

They continued through the numerous characters of _Harry Potter _until, finally, they reached the edge of the canal once again, a few minutes from where Ryou left her, nestled in the curve of the water. It was round this corner that Serenity had to travel, behind the shelter of the buildings, while Ryou needed to carry on straight in the opposite direction to reach the nearest convenience shop. They said their goodbyes and left once again.

Ryou had been unusually chatty that day, and he felt more at home in the quiet as he walked on alone. He could hear the sounds of the canal lapping ever so slightly against the ledges, the cars on the road, a train passing on the nearby railway and a scream. For a silly, foolish moment, he imagined it was his long-dead sister, screaming and screaming, but she was dead, was gone, and was certainly in no shape to be screaming. He knew it after only a second. And he ran. He ran back the way he'd come, and round the corner, faster then he ever had, ignoring as the air picked up on his instinct, propelling him along, and emptied his head of all thought, of all plans and schemes and fears and doubts, letting impulse take the front seat; hoping it would not steer him wrong.

He could not be too late. Not again.

Besides, Joey would absolutely kill him.

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_"Psychic energy!" Ryou declared. "Now my Kadabra can use it's Psy Beam on your Cloyster!"_

_"Awww…" Jason groaned, as he removed Cloyster and moved another card up from the Bench; Ryou picking up another Prize card from the side. "I _hate _that Kadabra!" He paused. " What would you trade it for?"_

_"No way!" Ryou shook his head. "Come on, it's your turn."_

_Jason stuck out his tongue and drew. "Hey, Bill's Teleport! Now I can-"_

_"Who's Bill?" Penelope asked curiously, picking up the card. "He's pretty ugly."_

_"Not as much as this thing." Amane pointed out, having grabbed Kadabra. "What is it even supposed to be?"_

_"That's Kadabra!" Ryou supplied, snatching it back. "And he's _really _good. _Really, really _good!"_

_"Really _boring_, you mean!" Penelope shot back, and she and Amane collapsed into giggles. _

_"_You're _boring!" Jason said, angrily. _

_"You're _all _boring." A fellow class-mate, an antagonist by the name of Charlie- who thought he was better then everyone because he was already eight0 drawled. "You're all boring and stupid!"  
The four glanced at each other._

_"_You're_ boring!" Penelope and Jason said together._

_"_You're_ stupid!" Amane and Ryou said together. _

_"Don't do that!" _

_"Do what?" All four asked together, smiling sweetly._

_"Talk all together!" He said, angry now._

_"We can't help it." Jason and Penelope replied._

_"Twins can hear each other's thoughts." Ryou and Amane explained._

_"You're… you're lying…" He said, uncertainly. "No-one can hear anyone else's thoughts!"_

_"We can." The four said together. "And sometimes… We can hear _yours_, to."_

_"Well then," He answered, stubbornly. "What am I thinking?"_

_"Nothing!" They informed him, politely._

_The four made mystic faces until he went away, frightened. Then they gave way to hysterical laughter._

_"We showed him!" Jason said, happily._

_"Yay 'Twin Attack!'" Amane declared, referring to their laboriously practised routine. The others heartily agreed._

_"We'll need a new one now, though." Penelope pointed out. "Or they'll work it out." _

_"We have an idea." Amane said confidently, looking to her brother for conformation. "Right, Ryou?" _

_"Yep!" He nodded, smiling. "But first… You insulted Kadabra."_

_"That's right." Jason said, remembering. "And all of Poké kind! We're not gonna speak to you now."_

_"We're not?" Ryou asked, confused._

_"No."_

_"Oh, okay."_

_They turned away with over the top folding of arms and sighing and pouting until their sisters, giggling, swore they would never insult the 'sacred Poké-ness' ever again. _

_"We can't afford to fight now!" Amane pointed out. "We need to fight against Charlie instead! So, friends?"_

_"Forever and ever and ever amen!" The four chanted together, as they did every time, laughing all the while at their own wit._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou rounded the corner to the sound of a splash. He saw Serenity, and her attacker, struggling to their feet, but he was faster. A large, burly guy; he wore a malicious grin of triumph as he moved quickly towards her, ploughing through the knee-deep water with ease. He was quite alone, and you could see why- he looked the sort who picked fights just for fun. Just as Serenity stood, just a second after he had, He pushed her back down and held her under the water. Serenity wasn't having any of it, struggling and kicking and inflicting more pain on her attacker then he was on her, but, finally, he got her under.

Now, Ryou was angry. The rage was cold and unfamiliar, burning up his muscles, but now Serenity was putting up less of a fight the guy was almost still, his bent back large and looming in Ryou's line of vision. So, Ryou jumped, landing straight on the guy's back, who yelled in surprise and tried to throw him off. Ryou held on around his neck, hitting him with whatever bits of his body were spare at the time, blindly making contact as he rolled over, off Serenity, and they were both plunged into the water. Ryou was lucky as the guy went down first, completely submerged, and he only got half-way in. Ryou scrambled back, making contact with a flabby stomach on the way, and watched with a kind of detached interest as the guy scrambled to his feet, winded.

By now, Serenity was back on her feet and ready for business, and Ryou was on hand to help. Like a coward, the would-be attacker ran away, with his tail between his legs.

Ryou and Serenity, standing drenched in the middle of the canal, looked at each other, dripping next to them. Then, they laughed, out of relief and hysteria, and then at the attacker himself. He hadn't been too late this time.

"…Well, he was kinda pathetic." Serenity commented, sobering up. "_Come on_, we didn't even hit hard!"

"Too true." Ryou nodded. "Let's face it- you and I are _hardly _a formidable force. Still… are you okay?"

"A little soggy…" Serenity frowned, looking down at herself. "But, I'm fine. Thanks for helping me." She shuddered, or perhaps shivered from the cold, a little. "When he had me under the water, I really thought…" She paused, then started again. "I thought I was going to die. I just thought I was going to die. And I thought how stupid it was that someone so pathetic could have killed me just because he stood up a little faster."

"It's alright…" Ryou said, a little awkward, not sure how to reply to that. "What was it that made him so mad?"

"I don't know." Serenity shrugged slightly. "Looking at his uniform, I'd say he was from Maypine School. They're our rivals, they all hate us- but they're not usually thugs like that."

"I'll walk you home." Ryou replied, quietly.

"In case you have to save me again?" She asked, half-joking. He shook his head.

"No, because it's hardly likely that _I'd _be of any use bar jumping on top of people." He explained. "Violence isn't my strong point. But I'll see you home, so if there _are _unscrupulous people around, you can save me."

Serenity giggled slightly. "It'll be a team effort." She decided.

"Alright." Ryou nodded. "Then let's get out of this canal, shall we?"

Serenity nodded in reply, and sloshed her way over the distance between them. Ryou suddenly looked away, seeming embarrassed.

"What's the matter?" She asked, puzzled.

"Um… I don't suppose your blazer does up, does it?" He asked, still looking in the opposite direction.

"No…" She replied, confused. "It's designed to be worn open. So there's no buttons or anything…"

"Ah." Ryou said, and slipped his own off, passing it to her, still without looking. "Then you'd better take this…"

"Why do I...?" Serenity began, taking the damp article none the less. Then she looked down. And remembered that white shirts weren't the best thing to wear when being submerged in a canal. "Oh. Um, I, um…" She stammered, embarrassed herself now. "Thanks." She said, eventually, putting the blazer on over her own. It was a little big for her, but the most important thing was the fact that it zipped up, and she did so, grateful. After she was done, they made their way over to the side and climbed out.

"Well, then." Ryou said, gesturing that they should leave. "Lead the way." Having not being completely submerged as she had, his own shirt had fared a lot better. But now he was wet, and, in the September winds, that wasn't good. Not that he'd complain about being cold. She began to show him the way, and they walked most of the way in silent companionship, until Ryou suddenly blurted out: "That poor blazer. First the pasta, and then the coke, and now dirty water. If I have to go to the dry cleaners' once more, I'll be chipping in for staff birthdays."

Serenity laughed, and they lapsed back into silence; finding the whole ordeal more amusing then appalling- though she doubted Joey would see it that way. But, until she got home, she didn't need to worry about that, and could just enjoy the quiet company.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_The doorbell rang out into the house, and the two instantly leapt to their feet, heading towards the door. They knew exactly who it would be, and, indeed, it was. Before them stood Penelope and Jason, along with their mom. _

_"Happy birthday!" They said, together. _

_"This is for you!" Jason cried, pushing a box towards Ryou._

_"And _this,_" Penelope added, pushing a box towards Amane "Is for you!"_

_The two thanked them politely, and then stood and shuffled impatiently as the two mothers discussed how they were 'eleven already' and 'how the years had flown'. At last, they got off the doorstep and inside, where they set about that most important of tasks- present opening._

_"They're from both of us." Penelope explained, as Amane, far more impatient then her brother, began peeling back the paper. "I hope you like them!"_

_"Ryou, you open yours now to." Jason commanded, as the boy had been waiting for Amane to go first. "They're almost the same, you see…"_

_Ryou, mystified, opened his to. As the bright paper came away, both found a video tape- more precisely, a _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles _tape. Ryou had the first film, and Amane the second. Both were ecstatic- they'd liked TMNT almost since they had first got into Pokémon, and, indeed, until a year or two ago, they'd spent many a break-time playing at being their favourite heroes- that was one game all four had played together, despite the fact the other girls thought Amane and Penelope were weird and the other boys often wanted to play. But it had always just been for them._

_While they didn't run around pretending to be the turtles anymore, they still _loved _the films. Penelope and Jason had known this, of course, and so had managed to hit on a perfect gift._

_"I hear they're really popular in America and Japan right now, to." Jason informed them._

_"Really?" Ryou asked. "In Japan, to?" He paused. "I wonder if dad's seen them…" _

_"Is he still working at the museum?" Penelope asked. _

_"That's right!" Amane said, sounding more enthusiastic then she really was. "But soon, he's moving onto a dig in the middle of Egypt! He thinks there's a 'mystery Pharaoh' that never found his way into the history books for some reason… One of Egypt's darkest secrets…And, speaking of dad," She added abruptly. "Look what he sent me!" She held up a stack of manga happily. "Cardcaptor Sakura _and_ CLAMP School Detectives!"_

_Jason and Penelope looked blankly at the un-translated books Amane loved so much. The crazy Japanese writing meant nothing to them. Their dad wasn't native to Japan, after all, and so the only odd word they knew came from Ryou and Amane; particularly when they were little and the two hadn't been quite able to get the hang of the fact that they had to speak completely in English away from home. _

_"And…" Ryou put in, pausing dramatically. "Take a look at what he sent _me._" He lifted a large box._

_"No way!" Jason cried. "It's Monster World! Man, I'm so jealous…"_

_"It's what?" Penelope asked, blankly._

_"It's just a game." Amane dismissed. The two boys looked at her slightly evilly._

_"It's _not _'just' a game." Ryou sounded insulted. "It is _the _most popular table-top RPG _ever_, so there!"_

_"RPG?" Penelope repeated, as if it was a foreign language, which, to her, it might as well have been._

_"Role Play Game." Amane supplied, wearily. "Ryou loves them."_

_"_I'm _not the one who stayed up all night on Saturday playing _Final Fantasy VII_!" Ryou pointed out, laughing._

_"That's a video game, though." Amane shrugged. "Not some board game."_

_"It's not a board game!" Jason and Ryou chorused. _

_"Prove it." Penelope challenged. "Let's play it- right now."_

_After some arguing over parts- Ryou ending up being the Dark Master as he couldn't say 'No'- they spent the rest of the afternoon playing Monster World- even _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles _couldn't distract them. That game became the first of many for the four of them. Ignoring the fact they were an adventurer short, they all got surprisingly into the game. It was not until two years later that anything changed, it was not until two years later that there would be any danger in the game._

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"Here we are…" Serenity said, cheerfully. In reality, she was a little embarrassed. The flat she was currently living in was nowhere near as nice looking as the block Ryou lived in. Of course, she didn't know what his was like indoors, but she knew this one was pretty scruffy. She tried to stand in front of a small patch of graffiti without him noticing. He didn't seem to have noticed his surroundings at all, come to think of it. "Maybe if you're here, we'll have chance to explain what happened before Joey jumps to a dumb conclusion…" She pressed the buzzer next to the door, and, a moment later, footfall sounded in the hallway. The door was wrenched violently open, and there stood a man, leaning on the doorframe.

"Dad!" Serenity gasped. He wasn't normally home at this time… Her dad looked at her, and then at Ryou, and before either could react, he had Ryou round the neck, pinned up against the opposite wall of the corridor.

"You little punk…" He drawled, his words slurring together. "Are you the one who's been doing things to my daughter!"

Ryou did not reply. He couldn't, his air was cut off. He struggled against the hands that held him, but it was useless. He could smell the alcohol coming off the man, but even when he was drunk Ryou could not shake him off. He was being held aloft above the ground, and, pathetic as he felt, there didn't seem to be much he could do about it, as Serenity's father continued to rant at him about all the improper things he seemed to think Ryou was doing to her.

"Dad!" Serenity was shrieking, tugging ineffectually at his arm. "What are you _doing_! Let him go!" He swatted her away, easily, without even looking at her. Joey arrived just then, late from school because of football practise, and reacted quickly, running up the corridor and wrenching his dad away. Ryou crumpled, chocking still, and staggered to his feet as Joey struggled to control his enraged father.

"Stay back!" He yelled, trying to push the man back inside and wave Ryou away. "I can handle it!"

"But-!"

"I can handle it!" Joey repeated, urgently. "Now, get outta here! Take 'Ren with you, and get out of here!" His dad broke free of the grip and swung at him, but Joey, apparently used to this sort of thing, evaded easily.

"Joey!" Serenity protested.

"I don't care what's happened!" Joey yelled at her. "I'll call Ryou when it's safe to come back! Just _go_!"

"Joey!" Serenity cried again, starting to head towards him as he, distracted, was hit. But it was no use- Ryou had grabbed her arm and was pulling her forcibly away. Eventually, she turned, and ran of her own accord, as her dad shouted after her, calling her all sorts of names she didn't need to hear. Soon, he to faded out of earshot as the two began walking back the way they'd come. The silence this time was not friendly. The silence this time was chilled, and frightened.

"Ryou…" She said, softly. "I am _so _sorry."

"It's alright."

"He… Well, he's been better recently, he hasn't been like this for so long…" She wiped her eyes determinedly. "If he had been… himself, I'm sure he would have liked you. He wouldn't have accused you of… all that stuff."

"As I said, it's alright." He assured her. "…I tell you what, though. Two fights in one day. Perhaps I'm becoming a gangster."

Serenity couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of this statement. "You're useful to have around." She commented. "You make me laugh no matter how bad things are…"

"It's a survival method." Ryou answered, suddenly serious. "Things… hurt a lot less if you can try to laugh at them."

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_The doorbell rang, three floors below, but, up in the slightly dusty attic, it was ignored. There were few teenagers that would celebrate their thirteenth birthday stowed away in a little used room, sitting on upturned crates or boxes of Christmas Decorations, but these didn't mind. In their minds, they weren't really there._

_On top of a large box that had once held a refrigerator, lay the world of Nerfder, another expansion of the Monster World Game, another civilisation under threat. Ryou had received it earlier that day, and was now all ready to begin the serious business of conquering it- Of course, there was the minor problem of those heroes that would oppose him. But that was okay- he was confident he could beat them this time. The monsters were fierce. The NPCs were now far more flexible to use for his own strategies- and he had a good few. The terrain was varied and exciting, the figures seemed like real people, and the villain was more villainous then ever before. There were traps and monsters amok, and it was just about ready._

_Ryou placed a final chest token down on the board and grinned round at his companions. "Right, we're all ready!" He said, happily. Gaming, and this game in particular, was his favourite thing, after all. "Let's see what story they've cooked up for us this time…" He picked up the manual, and the others looked serious. This short introduction would give them motivation- who they were fighting, and why, as well as giving Ryou a basis for his stories. Without it, they'd just be randomly defeating monsters; which, while fun, was not enough to capture the imagination._

_"The land of Nerfder has a dark and terrible secret that casts a shadow across it's entire area. While the people in the towns and villages prosper, no-one knows how. Nothing is known about this mysterious and reclusive kingdom, except for the healing oils that it makes. But, there are whispers. Whispers of a curse, long forgotten by man. A curse that no-one knows the cause or effect of. Yet, it is enough to scare away even the stoutest of heart…" Ryou paused for breath, and the others held theirs. This was part of the reason Ryou rarely played anything other then the Dark Master. His hushed, emotive tones were enough to transform them from normal children, Amane and Penelope and Jason, into a Half-Elf, a Birdtail and a Human; a Magic Gunman, an Illusionist, and a Bard. Ryou to could make up the rest of the adventure as easily as he could tie a shoelace, each more exciting and dramatic then the last. The Gunman, Illusionist and Bard leant forward eagerly as their narrator continued with the final part of the introduction supplied. "But you must venture in. From a town in the neighbouring country, you have been sent to ascertain healing potions for a plague that is effecting your civilians. However, counting the curse as an Old Wives' Tale, you are unprepared for the perils that await you. Will you uncover the secret of Nerfder? And will you return alive?"_

_"What's the secret?" Amane demanded, immediately._

_"That's for me to invent and for you to try and find out." Ryou replied easily. "Now then…" He barely had to pause for thought before continuing. "You have entered the land at it's Southernmost border, near a town named Brine. However, before you can even reach it, a sound comes from the bushes to the side of the road. Will you investigate? Or will you continue?"_

_The three adventurers looked at each other._

_"I'm curious." Amane admitted. "I think we should go look."_

_"But it could be a trap." Penelope pointed out. "…Or, it _could _be a good thing. He gives us good things sometimes to." She looked at Ryou for a clue, but he merely smiled, giving no clue. "Graah… Now I'm curious to…"_

_"What have we got to lose?" Amane pointed out. "We've only just started! He won't give us anything irreparable yet. Right, Ryou?" _

_Her twin just continued to smile, saying: "So, do you investigate?"_

_"Wait a minute." Jason piped up. "I can use my Dusk Sonata to put anything around us to sleep. That way we can get close and see what it is, and if it's dangerous, it won't be able to do anything."_

_"Good idea." Amane nodded. "Okay, go for it, Bard-Boy!"_

_"The success rate in this area is seventy percent." Ryou supplied. "You need a roll of thirty or over."_

_"Easy!" Jason replied, picking up the dice. "Okay, Dusk Son-"_

_"Ryou! Amane!" The mother of the two was calling. "A parcel just came from your father!"_

_The two stood immediately, and, pulling open the hatch, began to climb back down stairs. Jason carefully laid the dice down, and he and his sister followed, to where Ryou and Amane's mother was waiting. _

_"The postman just brought it to the door." She explained. "It's downstairs."_

_The box, on discovery, was large and brown, and had been sent all the way from Egypt. The dig had been going on for more then eighteen months, and, in all that time, they hadn't seen their father. But he'd still remembered their birthday, and, inside the box, were two brightly wrapped parcels, nestled in bubble wrap and polystyrene pebbles. Amane took them out with more care then usual, judging by the packaging that these were a little more delicate then normal. She handed Ryou his, it making slight clicking and chinking noises. They looked at each other, as their mom, Jason and Penelope looked on._

_ "You go first." Ryou murmured, and Amane nodded._

_"Okay." She pulled the purple paper back. Inside was a white piece of paper. Unfolding it, she saw that it covered in her dad's neat handwriting- a letter, that had been wrapped around the present itself; which she couldn't see through a layer of tissue paper and bubble wrap. Having got it out of the layers that so desperately sought to keep her out, she found an item more beautiful then any she had seen before. It probably wasn't real gold, but it shone like it, and the tiny gems embedded into it glinted like the Nile in the sun._

_"What is it…?" Penelope asked._

_"It's an Egyptian bracelet…" Amane whispered, in awe, slipping it onto her wrist. It was a little longer then the average bracelet, and would probably have been better described as a wrist band. And it was beautiful. _

_"Is it one they dug up?" Ryou asked, knowing the excavation team had had very little luck._

_"No…" Amane replied, scanning down the letter. They were well aware that due to laws in both countries, archaeologists were no longer glorified Treasure Hunters; anything they found belonged either to the National Museum of the country it was found in, or to the Crown, to be put in some other dusty museum in England. "He brought it from a market stall. He says he doesn't know if it's authentic, but he thinks it's beautiful…" She paused. "According to the stall owner, it's for safety, protection, and to 'repel evil'…Nice." She continued reading silently. _

I don't know how well these charms and trinkets work, _it read, _but I hope it'll help keep you safe while I'm away. Don't do anything too silly, and try not to do anything to worry your mom and brother! I should be able to come home for Christmas. Until I see you next, don't grow up too fast. All my love, Dad.

_"Mom! Ryou!" Amane grinned. "Dad's coming home at Christmas!"_

_"I know." Their mom smiled back. "It said so in my letter, to."_

_"Open yours, Ryou!" Amane prompted._

_Slowly but surely, Ryou ripped and tore and unfolded the various layers of protective packaging. It was larger then Amane's, but, oddly, lighter. The first thing he saw was his own letter, but he put it aside for now- what he'd got was more interesting to his spectators then him reading, and besides- their dad usually wrote about the present itself in the letter, so it would help to know what it was. The next thing that came to his attention was what appeared to be an eye. It was mounted on a gold-shaped triangle. The triangle was inside a circle, with several cones coming off it. But the gold it was made of didn't show any signs of age- apparently, it wasn't authentic either._

_ "What is it?" Jason asked, this time._

_"It says here…" Ryou replied, looking at his own letter. "It's called the 'Millennium Ring'. Dad thinks it might have some sort of connection to the Pharaoh they're looking for, but, seeing as it hasn't worn at all, it's probably just a copy. Anyway, it's meant to grant wisdom and power…" He glanced at the Ring in confusion. "'Wisdom and power'? Wisdom of what? What kind of Power…?"_

_"Does it matter?" Amane asked, exasperated._

_"He does spoil you." Their mom added, equally exasperated._

_"It's cool, though." Jason commented, reaching out to touch it. "I wonder if it actually _did _come from ancient Egypt…"_

_"I doubt it." Ryou answered. "Not if it looks that good." He slipped it over his head. "I'm glad it's not. A lot of things from Egypt are cursed."_

_"That's just fairy stories." Amane dismissed. "Hey, that looks good round your neck."_

_"I think it's kinda tacky." Penelope commented, flicking one of the spokes._

_"No… I mean… it just looks right, somehow." Amane shrugged. "Now! I believe Jason was about to cast 'Dusk Sonata'!"_

_They went back up to the attic, ready to continue the game. They did not know that they would never finish it._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Serenity let the hot water warm her up again, her teeth finally stopping their chattering. It had been quite a walk up to Ryou's, and, when soaking wet, very cold. They had reached the block of flats he lived in, climbed all the way to the top floor, where a lonely door had lead to where he lived. There was a living room leading onto a small kitchenette, on one side of the hallway, and on the other was a bedroom and a bathroom. His home was smaller then the flat she was currently residing in, and, of course, much smaller then her mom's house; but it seemed very homely, and very nice. However, it still had the air of loneliness about it, as if it longed to see a face other then Ryou's, and so she felt as if she had been welcomed.

She upturned her face to the spray to shake the weird thoughts out of it. She was most defiantly the worst person she knew for personification. Still, it was a nice, if small, flat; and now here she was, using the shower. This had been another cause of embarrassment for them both. She had been wet, and dirty, and smelly; but while she could use his shower, she was also in desperate need of a change of clothing- she couldn't just out her horrid uniform back on again. In the end, Ryou had produced some trousers and a shirt she could borrow, which was a kind gesture, and the only solution- but she wasn't used to walking around wearing other people's clothes, and he probably wasn't used to other people walking around in his clothes. And so, like every other issue, they ignored it as much as possible and pretended it wasn't there. Stepping out, she dried off, and got dressed in the clothes he'd leant to her. They were a little big, but they covered her, were warm, and were reasonably comfortable, and so that was the most important thing. She picked up her uniform from where it was squelched up in a corner, and headed out into the rest of the flat.

Ryou was across the corridor, in the little kitchen. He, to, had got changed, and what was presumably his uniform was clanking noisily around in the tumble dryer. Over it, she could just hear some music. She wasn't sure where he was playing it from, but she could just hear the strands come drifting lazily to her ears. At that point, he turned and saw her, and smiled.

"My turn in the shower, then." He stated, reaching out to take her uniform, removing her blazer before dumping the rest into the washing machine. "I won't be a moment. Please, make yourself comfortable…" He headed out into the hallway, and shut the door behind him. Serenity took the opportunity to look around.

The hallway had been whitewashed walls, and a brown carpet, but very bare; and at first the flat had seemed a little unwelcoming. However, it seemed that Ryou just hadn't got around to decorating yet, as it didn't carry through to the rest of his home, behind four doors, two on either side of the corridor. The bathroom had been all white and dark blue tiles, a shower, sink, and toilet crammed in to a tiny space along with a small cupboard for linen. More then anything else, with the fact it was immaculate, it had reminded her of the bathroom in the caravan she stayed in on her last holiday. Small, but neat, and enough.

The kitchen part also reminded her of a caravan, leading off the hallway opposite the bathroom. It was a small, hexagon shaped space, with a fridge, washing machine, dryer and oven crammed in underneath the work surfaces, and shelves and cupboards above them. There were some drawers, a toaster, a microwave and a bin forced in, but, despite it's cluttered layout, the room seemed spacious enough. 'Enough' did seem to be the key word in this flat, she thought, looking at the pale cream paint that showed on the few bits of wall that weren't covered by shelves or cupboards. The kitchen ran directly through into a living room, so she stepped through, looking around in interest.

The walls of the living room were also a cream colour, although these were slightly darker and more a pale yellow then a pale orange. There was a little fireplace at one side, an armchair, and a sofa, hiding the radiator; as well as a television. Between the television and the settee was a coffee table, covered with pieces of paper which were later revealed to be RE notes, apparently left over from a revision session. As was the rest of the flat, it was comfortable and cosy, and as she sat down in the armchair she felt as if she'd been there a million times before. She located the music, finding a small CD player tucked out of sight behind the chair, playing some sort of blues tune. She hadn't listened to much before, and had never really liked it, but this time she did; the melancholy of the notes soothing and making her feel not happy, but content. She now had a fairly good idea of the layout of the flat. On entering the front door, the first doorway to the right lead to the kitchen and the living room, and the one next to it she could only assume was Ryou's bedroom, as that was where he had disappeared when he went to fetch her some clothes. Opposite that was the bathroom, but the forth door, opposite where she was now, remained a mystery. Her imagination had just begun to run away with her, lulled by the sounds in the room, when Ryou entered.

"Hello." She said, unnecessarily, sitting up from her slumped position.

"Hello." He replied, easily. "…I'm hungry. What would you like?" Then he slapped his forehead. "Oh, no… I was going to go food shopping!" He sighed. "I'm afraid there isn't really a choice at all, then. Cheese on toast okay?"

"Fine." Serenity giggled. He disappeared into the kitchen, and reappeared a little later with the promised substance.

"Here we are." He said, handing her a plate, and bending down to turn his music off.

"It's alright." Serenity assured him. "I like it."

"Really?" He blinked. "Not many people are into Jazz and Blues anymore…"

"Well, I think it sounds nice." She said, firmly. "What is this?"

"This is Sonny Boy Williamson." Ryou informed her, matter-of-factly. "One of the best blues harmonica players ever known."

"I can tell." She answered, unable to resist anymore and taking a bite out of the cheesy bread.

They ate, and still Joey hadn't phoned. The rest of that evening, they passed idly talking or doing homework, but he still hadn't phoned. By the time evening had run into night time, and still no sign, Serenity was beginning to become concerned.

"I should go home- it's late." She said, eventually. She'd been putting off saying it for almost three hours now. She was worried about Joey, but she was so scared of her dad, and it felt so safe here…

"Serenity, it's almost eleven." Ryou said, gently. "He probably hasn't phoned because it's so late."

"…I guess…"

"You can't walk all that way at this time of night. You can stay here tonight, and we'll phone him first thing." He told her this firmly, with no room for argument, despite his awkwardness at the idea. Joey had told him to look after her, and he would- if she needed him to or not.

"Alright…" She sighed, gratefully. She hadn't _really _wanted to leave, if she was honest. "Thank you. You're so…kind, Ryou."

He smiled. "You're welcome. It really isn't a problem, I promise."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Some hours later, the game was nearing it's conclusion. The new expansion pack had brought an entire new dimension to the game, and, Ryou must have felt 'powerful' after all, because he was a lot more ruthless then usual. He set traps every two paces. He had monsters lurking in every crack and crevice. Most of the chests were rigged, and the tasks were hard. He seemed to be getting lucky to, as all his rolls seemed to be a lot closer to critical then usual._

_"Man…" Amane moaned, as she rolled to see if her 'Cold Blooded Bullet' would have any effect on the goblins before them. They were close to the final room of the villains' castle, and they still hadn't figured out Nrefder's secret- without it, they surely didn't have a hope of defeating Pavari. "You're really rubbing salt into every little wound today, aren't you, Ryou?"_

_"I like it." Jason said immediately. "I like a challenge. It's nice to see Ryou not holding back for once."_

_"Yeah, but he needn't make it impossible…" Penelope argued. "What do you say, Ryou? Could you ease up on the traps a little? I'm tired of stepping on booby trapped tiles in the floor…"_

_"Sorry." Ryou apologised, rubbing his head. "I don't mean to be too harsh. I… I'm just feeling a little weird."_

_"You alright?" Amane checked, as Jason took his turn. "You didn't eat too much cake, did you?"_

_"No, it's just… I-"_

_"Oh, no…" Jason groaned, pointing to where the dice were lying, showing '99'. "A fumble…" He sighed deeply. "Fine. So, Ryou, what's Nrefder's penalty for a fumble? HP? MP?"_

_"Let's find out." Ryou replied, ignoring Amane's worried looks and flicking through the instruction manual. It didn't specify, and so, he input the data to the little PDA that came with the game, used for calculating hit points lost or gained, speed, attack strength, and just about anything else that the game needed to function. "Oh…" Ryou frowned at the screen. "That's odd."_

_"What does it say?" Penelope asked, curious._

_"It says that you stay in the game forever." Ryou read out from the text on screen. Then, almost thoughtfully, he added "To stay forever in Monster World, with no escape, and no way back to friends, or family, or life as you know it… Trapped."_

_"I what?" Jason asked, before suddenly falling over the box they were using as a table, scattering polythene trees in his wake._

_"I really don't feel good…" Ryou said. He felt dizzy, and woozy, and somehow as if his brain was being shut down and pulled away from his grasp…_

_"Ryou!" Amane protested, sounding appalled. Ryou shook his head, trying to clear it, as Penelope leant over a now unconscious Jason, desperately attempting to wake him. "Now's not the time for you to be complaining over a headache!" Amane yelled. "Get mom! Get an ambulance!"_

_"What about finishing the game?" Ryou asked, still feeling dazed and confused. He felt weird indeed. But, he _did _want to finish the game so badly…_

_"Ryou!" Amane screamed, slightly panicked. "Stuff the game! Go and get help!"_

_Ryou went. They couldn't wake him. The paramedics, on arrival, could neither wake him nor understand why he had collapsed. Ryou continued feeling odd, so he barely noticed the looks Penelope was giving him. He hadn't even cared when Jason had collapsed, he'd wanted to finish the game. And the scariest thing was that he had known it was coming. He'd told Jason in that indifferent tone that he would never speak to anyone again. She didn't know what he'd done, only that he'd done it. She'd seen it with her own eyes. He must have known. He must have done. Otherwise, why would he have come up with all that stuff extra to what was on the screen? Why…?_

_As the evening passed, Ryou felt more like himself again; but they were both withdrawn, scared, frightened by what had happened, and scared by the fact that they didn't understand what had caused it. As the days passed, they became convinced that it was a freak accident. They had to convince themselves of that a lot as time went on. Penelope couldn't stand to be in the same room as Ryou, needing someone to blame, and, seeing him so unhappy and withdrawn, their mom decided to move- making a fresh start. Ryou forgot to pack Monster World, but brought a new one. One that was not tarnished by the memories of his best friend collapsing over it._

_In their new home, the same thing happened again. And in the next, and the next, and the next. Each time, Ryou convinced himself that it was just a coincidence, was so desperate to make friends, and only knew one way to do it- Monster World brought him closer to people as they went on adventures together. But, following his thirteenth birthday, he started to have real-life adventures himself- He found that the air, the wind around him would listen to him, would do as he said, would help him. And so, looking for people to accept him, not thinking of him as a freak who sent people to hospital, Ryou, with the help of Amane, adopted a hero persona- quickly being dubbed by the English media as 'Faceless'. He saved a lot of people._

_But he couldn't save his family._

_When he came to Japan, with nothing- no family, no home, and no possessions- it was time for another fresh start. He'd vowed it to be his last one. His past was buried and dormant, and so were his powers. He had other things- the Ring- to concentrate on. Yugi and the others defeated Monster World, everyone woke up. The Ring was now buried in the desert sand of Egypt. And so, Ryou had thought that all links to his past were now gone._

_Then Penelope had arrived. He had come full circle. And she still hated him. He just couldn't understand it. Hadn't Jason woken up after the Pharaoh had won Monster World, like all the others? But, if he had, then… where was he?_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She may have been sleeping on a sofa, as that was the easiest to organise, but she felt so comfortable, and so warm, huddled up under a spare blanket he'd pulled from the linen closet in the bathroom. It smelt vaguely like lemons, and despite the trials of the day, and the worries about her brother, and the fact she was sleeping on someone else's sofa in someone else's clothes, she slipped easily into sleep. She was warm, hot even, but not uncomfortably so, and would not have woken at all had it not been for a cool, cold draught that began to blow across in the early hours of the morning. The door in the kitchen had been left slightly open, and through it, she could see the door on the opposite side of the hallway was open to. To her surprise, it opened onto a set of stairs, and, out of curiosity, she got her sleepy body out of bed and went to investigate.

Sometime before, Ryou had also been sleeping, but his had been, as always, troubled. He had dreamt that they were all in the _Alice in Wonderland _book, but instead of Duke being the Cheshire Cat, it had been the spirit of the Ring, and even as Ryou ran from him, he was always just behind, as Wonderland burnt around them. As they ran, Ryou became more and more like a rabbit, and the Yami-Cat had changed into a fox, bearing down on him, ready to-

Thankfully, at that point, he had woken up. He'd been half way through stripping the sheets as always, knowing they were drenched with sweat, before remembering that Serenity was there, and he didn't really want her to know about his problem. He'd left the sheets half-off the bed, and then poked his head around the kitchen door. She was probably worried about Joey, so it was quite possible she'd be awake, but when he looked, she was soundly asleep. If only he could sleep so easily… He had left, softly pulling the door to behind him, but not wanting to shut it lest the click woke her. He didn't know how heavy or light a sleeper she was, after all. Then, he opened the door opposite, the air immediately colder. He'd climbed the stairs, up onto the roof, as always, unaware of the fact he'd left the doors open, that the wind would blow into the flat and open them all, and tickle her face till she awoke. As such, he was quite surprised when she appeared behind him, rising up from the stairs.

"Ryou…?" She said, quietly. She didn't want to startle him, as he was sitting sideways on top of the wall that ran around the edge of the roof, his knees pulled up near his chest, his arms on top of them, and his head piled on after them, looking out over the Domino skyline that rose most magnificently around them.

"Serenity? Did I wake you?" He asked, in surprise. "I'm sorry…"

Serenity didn't answer, coming to stand next to him. "I didn't know you had roof access." She commented. "It's beautiful up here…" Below, she could see the whole city, from her own tower block to both schools, to the city centre, off in the distance with fountains, museums, shops, libraries; the downtown with people only now spilling out of clubs. She could see a playing field and a park, and between it all, roads and the railway and the canal ran amok. "You're in a really good position. You can see a huge amount…"

"Yes." Ryou agreed. "That's why I chose this place."

"It's peaceful up here." Serenity agreed, feeling the cold wind caress and nibble at her skin. It was cold. "Still, two in the morning… What's wrong? Couldn't you sleep?"

Ryou didn't answer her question, instead making a reply with the words: "I'm sorry I woke you. You should go and try to get some more sleep- after all, we _do _have school later…"

Serenity, sensing that he was uncomfortable, decided to let the matter rest, and left him to it. It took her a lot longer to get to sleep this time. She was beginning to realise that there was a lot more to Ryou then his carefree exterior let on. She only wished he would share it.

Up on the roof, the wind ruffled through Ryou's hair and around his face. It whispered as it whistled around him, of places it had seen, and of places it would go; and wanting him to go with it… Ryou shook his head, trying to clear both the silly personification and the idea. He wasn't a hero. He'd tried to be, once upon a time, but he'd failed- it had only ended with a lot of people hating him, and, more importantly, his family being dead. He did more damage then good.

And yet…

And yet. He thought back to Serenity's words. Was he really doing them an injustice, by giving up his powers? They were part of who he was, however much he tried to get rid of them. And Amane… She had always encouraged him, told him it was his duty, helped him as much as she could. She wouldn't have wanted him to stop. Ryou knew that. He'd probably known that all along. But he'd just ignored it, because he was so scared. Scared that someone else would be hurt, _killed_, because of what he'd done. Scared of what he'd do. Scared of what he wouldn't.

But that wasn't really an excuse. If he could help, then he should. The problem was, it was so much easier said then done…

The answer presented itself in the form of the same guy from earlier. Ryou only just saw him, skulking in an alleyway a few streets away. Considering the time, he really was just out for trouble… He stood not far from a night club, which had just disgorged a lot of quite young, quite drunk, people. All holding purses or wallets or handbags. The guy made his move.

And Ryou knew it was time to make his.

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_Faceless walked easily through the air as it cushioned up and supported his weight. He stepped briskly, hoping he wouldn't be seen- although the mask would be enough to avoid him being recognised. For once, behind that mask, he was smiling. Being a superhero, he discovered, was scary- but people loved him, needed him, and he could not let them down. It was also a way to repay his debt. Repay society for the curse he seemed to bring on people…_

_He shook his head, determined not to think about the mysterious collapses anymore. Today, someone had got their just reward, the final member of a gang that had been giving the police some trouble. They'd been looking for him for months. Once he got home, he could tell Amane-_

_By now, he had reached the building opposite his house, and he didn't even need to look to see that's where the smoke was coming from. There were crowds of people, fire engines, paramedics, gathering round the smouldering remains of his house, the final persistent flames being stamped out by some fire fighters. Several more were gathered around what looked like it used to be the stairs he climbed up and down everyday. They removed a banister, and pulled. Slowly, a charred, black, red-raw object became visible; and then the rest of her. She was placed on a stretcher, and covered in a sheet. They didn't bother taking her to an ambulance just yet. Just put her out of the way and carried on with their more important work- finding if anyone else was in there._

_"Mom…" He whispered, his mouth dry. He did not grieve yet. He just sat down, very heavily. He pulled the mask off, no longer Faceless, the hero, but Ryou Bakura, the boy who had just seen his mother's body lifted out of the wreckage of his life. Ryou Bakura, who had been off playing at hero instead of at home, where he could have been of help. And Ryou Bakura, who now had not another soul in the world._

_"It was just the three of them." A loud-voiced neighbour was telling the emergency services. "Her, and the two twins. I think he may have been out, though…"_

_Ryou did not hear the reply, suddenly vomiting horribly. He still hadn't been noticed, but his position would not go unchecked for long. He had to get out of here. He heard shouts. They'd found Amane in the rubble now. He stood, shakily, threw the mask down, jumped, and ran. He couldn't see her as he had seen his mom. He just couldn't. He ran, and ran, and ran, because he had just realised that there was one other person who may or may not be alive. There may be one person who was still with him. His father. He had to find his father. He would find his father, and he would forget his powers- he would be with what remained of his family from now on. He could bet that the attack was on him, not on them. So he would stop. _

_But he wouldn't stop running. He couldn't stop now. He had gone too far, too fast, to stop._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The first thing he needed was something to cover his face. On one of the balconies lower down on the opposite building, someone had forgotten to take their washing in, and a jumper was hung over the railing, slowly drying out in the wind. That was all he needed. He remembered what this punk had tried to do to Serenity. He thought that he was about to try and do it to someone else. Swallowing hard, he looked again. Back in the day, he would have made jumps like that without thinking. He was suddenly frightened- what if he'd forgotten how?

"Well, there's only one way to find out." He muttered grimly to himself, stepping backwards. He then ran headlong across the roof, pressing down and making hard contact with the wall, using it to sling himself over. He fell, and for a moment, the fear overcame him, but then he came back to his senses, and his movement slowed slightly; no longer a tumbling plummet, but a controlled fall, as the air rippled and moved around him, becoming thicker so it was harder to penetrate. Ryou allowed himself a small smile. He still had it. Then, he landed on the balcony without a sound.

He paused momentarily, looking at the red woollen thing he was 'borrowing', wondering just how to use it, and then pulled it partly over his head, so that his face was covered, and all that could be seen through the head hole was a circle of white hair, the rest tucked inside the jumper or his shirt. Blindly, he tied the sleeves behind his head, out of the way, before scrabbling hastily, desperately, at the threads in front of his eyes until he could see. He was certain he looked a total and utter fool, but he no longer cared- his heart pounded in exhilaration, glad that they were back to doing what they were born to do, that his head had so long delayed.

There was that personification again. Kinda.

Wasting no more time, Ryou leapt into the air, pulling it up beneath him and using it almost as a trampoline, bouncing from each invisible platform he made to another, high and fast. He could have simply had it push him up and flown, but that was a lot harder, and he didn't want to run before he could walk. He caught sight of his culprit about a street away from where he'd first been spotted, stalking a woman who had separated from the others. A bad choice. Even from here, Ryou could see she was stone-cold sober. As a result, she was more alert.

Ryou began running through the air, each time he put his foot down bringing the air beneath it temporarily together to keep him up. It was an exalted feeling. It felt right, and natural, like a well-worn shoe. He'd felt it a little when he'd saved the girl that had fallen off the bridge, but had pushed it away. Now, he embraced the feeling. He wasn't nearly as scared now as he had been before hand. But he could think it all through later. Right now, he had to focus on the task at hand.

The man had approached the woman, and now grabbed out for her. She had been expecting him, however, and, screaming, spun round and hit him full on in the face with her handbag. Swearing, he staggered away, but enraged now, came back. Ryou landed silently on the roof behind him, watching. It seemed quite possible the woman would not need his help at all, as he ran at her again, intending to grab her bag, but she evaded him easily and kicked him harshly where he really did not want to be kicked. He, however, straightened up, smiling. And he pulled out a knife.

Now it most defiantly was time to intervene.

Ryou sprang down, using the air to force him more forward, landing for the second time that day on the man's back. This time, however, he jumped off again before he had even fallen over, and unceremoniously grabbed the woman. He used the air as a trampoline again, depositing her on a nearby balcony, out of harm's way.

"Excuse me." He murmured, remembering to disguise his voice behind a false accent, and then jumped back down to face his foe.

"W-who's there…?" He stammered, proving once again that he was a coward. Ryou stayed hidden in the shadows, surprised the red of the jumper didn't reveal him immediately. "I…I have a knife…"

Ryou rolled his eyes, and called the air from behind the man to gather itself into a concentrated gust, which sharply and accurately hit the knife, sending it spinning out of his hand- and safely into Ryou's, who stepped forward to catch it.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken." He said, quietly. "I'm the one with the knife."

Just as expected, the man ran away. Ryou took to the air again, silently following him, but it seemed he was done making trouble for the night, returning home. It was about time Ryou did the same. And so, he did, returning the jumper on his way. Numbly, he returned to bed as if nothing had happened. He felt so excited, so amazed at what he'd done, he was certain he would not sleep. But he did, more soundly, more deeply, and more well then he had done for a long time.

He was _back_.

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Serenity awoke early the next morning, feeling well-rested in spite of her disturbed night. There was no sign of Ryou, but whether that meant he was still asleep or not remained to be seen. She padded across the room, through the kitchen, and peered round at the door to his room. It was slightly ajar, as though he had stumbled into it half-asleep, but it was still occupied- she could see a rough lump in the bed. Not knowing how long he had stayed up last night, she decided to leave him to sleep, rescuing her slightly crumpled uniform from the dryer and heading into the bathroom. She couldn't really do much about her hair yet, but at least she could be dressed and in her own clothes. Once she was showered and dressed, she retrieved her blazer, which was now dry- but even on the black, it was clear to see the dirt and grime. She grimaced and put it back. It was lucky she had a spare- but it became clearer then ever she desperately needed to go back to her own flat before school. She wanted to brush her teeth and hair, change her underwear, use some deodorant, get her blazer and books…

Ryou still hadn't appeared. Perhaps he was feeling ill, and that was why he had been up all night. She formed a plan of action, deciding she would hang around for a little longer, as it was still too early for Joey to be up and moving and she didn't want another encounter with her dad, and then she would head back; leaving Ryou to sleep as much as he needed to.

Unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. Unaware of how temperamental Ryou's toaster was, she innocently put some bread in it for breakfast. Within a minute, smoke was pouring out of it, and, even as she turned off at the wall, the smoke alarm began to shriek it's warning. Ryou burst in, looking haggard and half-asleep, his hair sticking out at even odder angles then it usually did.

"What's happening!" He demanded, before working it out on his own and wafting a tea towel in the vicinity of the alarm to get it to shut up. He then surveyed Serenity, he looked sheepishly back at him. Finally, the sprinkler system installed in the ceiling decided to come on, raining down on them both. They watched each other, water streaming down their faces, and soaking them yet again.

"…Good morning." Ryou said, eventually.

"Morning."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It was complete chance that carried Abaca past the television set at precisely the right time.

As always, Midha was parked on the sofa, watching repeats of the old duelling tournaments. Judging by the elaborate settings around them, it was a castle, meaning it was the end of the Duellist Kingdom tournament. Abaca had no more then a passing interest- card games weren't really her thing- but in a house that contained Midha even she knew most of the big names and contests.

"Who's playing?" She asked, moving past to go through to the kitchen.

"Finals." Midha grunted. "Yugi Motto and Joey Wheeler." She then progressed into a rant about how Pegasus had refused to let anyone film the duel between him and Yugi, thusly spewing many theories about what had gone on behind those closed doors. Over the grumbling, Abaca barely heard it.

"The stakes are high," A voice, quiet, background noise, was saying. "But hopefully, when it's all been said and done…"

She gripped the back of the settee as a shot of the speaker was shown. It was taken from across the arena where the duel was in full swing, but, over the top of the Celtic Guardian, you could see a shock of white hair.

"Midha…" She said, quietly, trying to control herself. "Who's that, at the back? With the white hair?"

"That?" Midha answered, not looking at her, not seeing her skin go pale. "That's Ryou Bakura. Finalist at Battle City. Hasn't done much else, though."

"Ryou Bakura. I don't believe it. Ryou Bakura…" Abaca repeated quietly to herself, whispering the name. "And you didn't connect him with Professor _Bakura? _The one I've been searching for since I got here? It _never_ crossed your mind to _tell _me!"

"You never said you were looking for a Ryou to." Midha pointed out.

"Of course I-!" Abaca began, then took a few deep breaths. "How old is this?"

"A few years." Midha shrugged.

"Then he'll still be in Japan." Abaca murmured to herself.

"Domino City, if he hangs round with Motto." Midha told her, trying to redeem herself. Abaca was the only one who never made her get off the settee.

"In that case," Abaca answered, steely, "I'm going to Japan."

"And I'm coming to!" Midha said, cheerily. "I always wanted to go and find some prominent duellists to challenge…"

Abaca nodded, leaving the room. She hadn't even begun to think of the technicalities of how she'd get all the way to Japan. She was shell shocked. It was Ryou. He wasn't dead. He was alive, and well. Unfortunately, he was on the other side of the world. But that wouldn't stop her. Nothing would. If she couldn't find the father, she'd have to find the son.

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_I love comic books. Superheroes in particular. You could say it gives me something to aspire, I guess. Usually, they're just a normal person, and then something happens to them that makes them 'Super'. I am not like that. I was always this way- so I suppose my favourites should be the X-men. I _do _like Wolverine. He's so cool. Still, one thing I don't like so much is the 'Self-made' heroes- Batman, namely. Lots of people like him because he _is _just a normal guy that has made something more of himself. Maybe I'm not so keen because I can't relate to, I don't know. But my favourite has to be Spiderman. I really do relate to _him, _that's for sure. I know what it's like, Peter Parker. I do. Everyone got really annoyed at him, particularly in the second film, when he decided to give up being a hero, so the ones close to him wouldn't get hurt. But I understood. I did the same thing. I should have accepted the inevitability that I, just like him, would end up right back where I started._

_He eventually tells his Aunt May and Mary-Jane who he is. I can't do that. Amane knew, but Amane died, and I thought 'Faceless' died with her. But she isn't totally gone, because she's inside me; and so he's inside me to. And now he's back. Still, Faceless was just what the papers called me… I wonder what the Japanese will come up with. Something much cooler, I bet._

_I'm excited. Scared, but excited. And I've realised that my family is now gone- what is there left to endanger? I love this place. I love my life here. And so, just as I did then, I have something to protect._

_I will protect it. There's no way I'm going to lose everything again. I may not be 'Super', and I don't consider myself a 'hero'; but I _am _Ryou Bakura, and I _do _have some unusual skills, and I _will _use them. That was a promise I made to Amane many years ago. It's about time I stopped breaking it. _

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A/N: So, there we go. Was ANYONE surprised by the Jason thing? Oh, that reminds me- I decided to, as you've seen by now, make Ryou and Amane twins. Why? Well, I'd seen fics when she was older, fics when she was younger, but I'd never seen her as a twin. So I thought I could try. Because it's fun to try new things! Whee…


	5. A Visitor

_--A/N: Well, this WOULD'VE been up yesterday, but no. Fanfiction was being screwy. Ah well... Better late then never...--_

A/N: These 'I know! Let's write a chapter all in one stretch!' affairs seem to be becoming annoyingly frequent around here. Yup, it's another one written from scratch today. But hey, I had a day off. Well, a week off- half term- but it's been really busy, so I didn't actually write _anything _despite the fact I wasn't in school. I'm supposed to be on Work Experience for the next two weeks, but I don't have to start till tomorrow, and… well, here I am! So, I have just four things to say:

1. I'm hungry. Random, but true. Luckily, it's almost time for dinner.

2. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh.

3. I couldn't remember the cards for Joey's deck, so please… just pretend. _(Sweatdrop)_

4. My back hurts. I need a new chair.

…Man, I'm complaining a bit today. Ah well! I apologise! Here's chapter Four, in which Abaca finally shows!

Four: A Visitor

The seatbelt light flashed red as, at the front of the plane, one of the hostess politely asked the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, as they were about to begin their decent. Abaca, who hadn't taken hers off anyway, checked to make sure it was secure, giving a sigh of relief and trying to calm her heart rate.

"You see?" Midha crowed, next to her. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"We're not down yet." Abaca muttered in reply, her teeth clenched. Midha laughed.

"I never would have guessed you were afraid of flying." She commented, sighing. "I'm glad we're about to land. Eighteen hours of you being so jumpy is enough for anyone. The only time that seatbelt's come off is so you can go and vomit."

"Thanks, Midha, thank you so much for your support…" Abaca spat, sarcastically. "Everyone's afraid of something. And I don't want to talk about it any more."

"Fine. I was thinking, though, if we're going to find this Ryou of yours, we might be better off looking for Yugi Motto. After all, he's a little more well-known, so people should know where he is."

"Sure." Abaca said, trying to ignore the shaking of the descent. She closed her eyes, but that made it worse, so she opened them again. "Just as long as you don't keep getting into duels."

If there had been any other way of getting to Japan that she could afford, Abaca would have taken it. She hated flying, always had done, always would. Part of the reason she had taken up residence in Egypt instead of going back home, besides to look for him, was because she never wanted to get on another plane. She only hoped it was worth all this bother. She was facing her greatest phobia, just to find one Ryou Bakura. She hoped it would be worth it. She hoped it worked out okay.

"We've landed." Midha said, making her jump. "You can relax now."

Abaca breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…"

The worst was over. That was something, at least. But there was still a lot more to go.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou was sleeping better then he had done in a long time, deep and dreamless. He'd finally given in to the allure of his talents, had finally accepted his abilities to control the air as part of himself, and had done what the powers had been longing to do- save people. It felt so right, and that particular hole he'd had inside him was filled. There were a lot of holes in his spirit, so many that sometimes he'd felt like a ghost, like there was no-one and nothing there at all. One had now been filled. Others were getting smaller. He didn't know if he'd ever feel completely whole. But he felt better, and that peace had been enough for him to sleep naturally, in a way he hadn't since he'd first got the Millennium Ring. Unfortunately, a shrieking smoke alarm was not the most gentle way to be woken.

The sound was high-pitched and seemed to garrotte it's way straight through his head. He jerked up right, surprised, and quickly tumbled out of bed; stumbling into the kitchen. Serenity was standing there, looking shocked, surprised, and scared.

"What's happening!" Ryou demanded, wide-eyed after his rude awakening. However, he then spotted the smoke pouring from the toaster. It was, by far, his most moody appliance. He really should have warned Serenity about that one. Wearily, he grabbed a tea towel and waved it at the smoke alarm until it shut up at last.

He looked at Serenity, who seemed a little embarrassed. She was about to say something when the sprinkler system finally kicked in, dousing them both once again.

"…Good morning." Ryou said eventually, wiping rivers of water from his face.

"Morning." Serenity replied, hesitating. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make-"

"It's the toaster." Ryou cut her off, bending down and trying to wrestle the mop from a cupboard that was far too small for it, knowing that the switch to turn the sprinklers off was just behind it. "I need to replace it. Don't worry about it…"

Serenity didn't reply, but she still felt guilty about the entire affair. She hadn't wanted to wake him up. He'd been so nice to her, and all she'd succeeded in doing was messing up his floor. He didn't seem to mind, though, whistling to himself as he began mopping up the water, from the sprinklers which he had only now managed to turn off. Something about it just struck her as comical, and she began to giggle. Ryou looked at her indignantly.

"Do _you _want to mop?" He asked her. Of course, he didn't think she would say yes, but Serenity gasped.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She cried. "I should have offered! I'll do it…"

Ryou shook his head. "Serenity, I was joking. I didn't mean you needed to."

"No, but I _should_." Serenity insisted, taking hold of the mop. Ryou, however, didn't give it up that easily.

"It's fine." He assured her. "I can manage."

"I'll do it."

"No, it's okay. I'll do it."

"No, I'll do it!"

"Serenity, I'll do it."

Suddenly, Serenity spluttered into laughter again. "We're arguing about mopping the floor." She informed him.

"I'd noticed." Ryou replied, taking advantage of the distraction to prise the mop out of her hand and continue his work.

"But… I want to help." Serenity pouted.

Ryou rolled his eyes. "If it means that much to you, we need to get the water off all the appliances…"

"Alright!" Serenity agreed, glad to be doing something useful.

"Now, excuse me, or I shall end up mopping your feet." Ryou added, calm as ever.

Serenity had just located a cloth and had begun to wipe down the microwave when, to the surprise of both parties, the doorbell went. Ryou looked up in confusion, and then down at himself in dismay. He was now wet, and still in the old clothes he'd worn in bed the night before; tatty and frayed, and trousers that he'd long since grown out of and so were up around his ankles. Still, for someone to call around at this time of the morning, it was probably important…

"I'll just be a second…" He muttered, leaning the mop up against the fridge and heading towards the front door. Opening it revealed the person he'd been half-expecting to see.

"Joey!" He greeted, smiling. At the sound of his name, Serenity came out into the hall, grinning now.

"You're okay!" She declared, happily.

"Of course." Joey replied, stepping inside. "I can handle…" he trailed off. "Why is it that every time I see you two, you're soaking wet?"

Ryou and Serenity glanced at each other, trying not to laugh again.

"…That's a bit of a story." Ryou said, eventually, gesturing for Joey to go through. "But not our fault…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The shop bell chimed, and Grandpa looked up from his paper, mildly surprised. He'd only opened five minutes ago, when Yugi had left for school, and normally people didn't come in that quickly. Nor did these two girls seem to be browsing. The younger one, at any rate, should have been on her way to school; although she didn't look like any student he'd seen before, with long dark hair and a hat pulled down on her head despite the late September weather. She, and her older companion headed towards the counter.

"Is this Yugi Motto lives?" The older, dark skinned and dark haired; obviously Egyptian, demanded.

"Midha!" The younger hissed, then turned to the counter, bowing slightly. "I'm sorry, her Japanese isn't perfect, and neither are her manners. But… would you be able to tell us if this is where Yugi Motto lives?"

Grandpa eyed them in suspicion. He knew Yugi constantly had duellists after him, and he wasn't sure if he should tell these girls anything. However, she seemed to pick up on his uncertainty.

"Please, we just want to talk to him." She said, sounding a little desperate.

"Speak for yourself…" The one she'd called Midha muttered, under her breath.

"So, you're looking for a duel, are you?" Grandpa asked, his eyes suddenly sparkling. "Why don't you try me?"

"Who are you?" Midha asked, suspiciously.

"I'm the one who taught Yugi everything he knows!" Grandpa declared. "My name's Solomon Motto, but you can call me Grandpa. Everyone else in this place does…"

A gasp echoed from the other girl, the one who had been adamant that they weren't there to duel.

"Then you must be Dr Motto…" She muttered, bowing again. "It's an… honour to meet you, sir."

Grandpa blinked. "You've heard of me?"

"Of course!" She declared. "Everyone in the archaeology circuit has!"

Grandpa chuckled to himself in delight. "There's not many girls your age interested in old fossils like me…"

"That's what I keep telling her." Midha sighed. "Can we duel now? Please?"

"No, Midha!" The other insisted. "We really have to go… Besides, he'll kick your butt, you know it." She bowed once more to Grandpa before dragging her friend forcibly out of the shop. Once they'd gone, Grandpa let his care-free façade drop a little. He still didn't know who the girls were, or what they wanted. He'd better warn Yugi…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"As for this morning," Serenity added, bringing their story towards it's conclusion. "Well."

"My toaster is very temperamental." Ryou completed.

"The alarm went off." Serenity elaborated.

"Which set off the sprinklers." Ryou nodded. "Hence, we got wet. Again."

Joey laughed. "Heh." Then he looked at Ryou in suspicion. "Still… something seems a little fishy about you jumping into the canal. No pun intended."

"Oh?" Ryou asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"I thought you didn't know how to swim." Joey accused.

"Oh…" Ryou replied, sheepishly. "Well… The water was only waist-deep." He smiled, seeming a little embarrassed as Serenity stared at him in shock. He preferred not to tell people about that… they usually laughed at him. He decided it was time to excuse himself. For one thing, he was embarrassed. For another, he had to get ready for school. And, for a third, Serenity and Joey probably wouldn't want to talk about their dad while he was there.

Ryou excused himself, needing to go and get ready for school, and so the two were left alone.

"I didn't know he couldn't swim." Serenity stated. "He never said."

Joey shrugged. "Well, Ryou's pretty secretive. Besides, would you admit it?"

"I guess not…And it doesn't really matter…" Serenity said, slowly. "But… why didn't he ever learn?"

Joey couldn't help but laugh a little. "I don't really know. Apparently, he used to be extremely hydrophobic. He's not so bad now- I mean, he came on the boat to Duellist Kingdom and everything no problem- but I think maybe he's a little too old for swimming lessons." He paused slightly. "Either that, or he was scared but came anyway. It wouldn't surprise me…"

Serenity frowned, shaking her head. "Every time I think I know everything about his past, I learn something else. I wish he trusted us enough to tell us everything…"

Joey shrugged again. "I think everyone knows different bits. No-one knows everything about him. And if that's the way he wants it, then I guess we'll have to leave him to it. It's not like we need to know everything, 'Ren. He's never let us down, has he?"

"No." Serenity replied, absently. She didn't notice her brother was looking at her in open confusion, wondering why she was suddenly so bothered about Ryou's mysterious ways. She couldn't help but wonder if she was the only one who actually knew about his family. _Everyone knows different bits, _Joey had said. But his sister wasn't really a little thing like a childish phobia. She couldn't really understand why he wasn't more open about her. His sister wasn't anything to be embarrassed about. But maybe he just didn't want the pity.

Joey, meanwhile, watched her think. He knew she walked home with Ryou, and he knew she enjoyed it. He didn't really want to think about anyone getting… involved with his little sister, but it seemed to be inevitable. If she wasn't careful, Serenity probably would end up with a crush on Ryou. As much as he hated to think about it, Joey knew that if she did Ryou would probably remain oblivious to it. It wasn't that he disliked Ryou, not at all; he just didn't want Serenity ending up in some kind of bizarre unrequited love situation. But he didn't know what to do about it. He'd just have to hope she didn't end up falling for him. He comforted himself with the fact that they were both soft hearted people- they treated everyone like this. So it was just his imagination.

"Joey?" She called, shaking him out of his thoughts. "I think Ryou left so you could tell me what happened after we left…"

"Not much." Joey sighed. "I pushed him back indoors, he punched down a kitchen cabinet, and then he calmed down and crashed on the sofa. I put the cupboard back up, and that didn't even wake him up…"

"I thought…" Serenity sighed miserably. "That he was getting better."

"He was." Joey said, downcast. "I know he was never at home, but he wasn't at the pub. He was back at work, and then one of the women at work… Well, instead of going to the pub, he'd go out with her. She'd stop him. He still drank when he got home, he said he needed it, but…"

"Oh." Serenity said, awkwardly. Ever since the divorce, she'd known that her parents would _eventually _find someone else; but after all these years she didn't think it would actually happen. Especially given the state they were in…

"He was even talking about joining one of those support groups." Joey laughed bitterly. "Guess that's all gone down the pan now. He still hadn't woken up when I left. He's going to be late for work. If he even goes in."

"It might be okay…" Serenity tried. "I mean, if he's been doing so well up to now, it might have just been a lapse. Someone's birthday, or something. And he might wake up feeling so awful it'll only strengthen his resolve!"

"That's right." Joey smiled. "It'll all be fine."

Serenity smiled to, and hugged him. She'd missed him so much when she'd been living so far away from him, she hadn't been able to stand it. She had promised Ryou she'd go back to her mom, but… right now, she hated to think of it. She didn't care about what her dad was like, and her mom was just as bad- in a different way, but just as bad. The only stable one in her family right now seemed to be Joey, and so she wanted to stay here, where he was; and where Ryou and Téa and Yugi and all her other friends were. One day she'd go back.

But not yet.

"Now, then." Joey said, pulling away, not used to displays of affection. "Has Ryou told you what Penelope's problem with him is? He dumped her, right?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Later, just as they were reaching the school gates, Joey turned to Ryou.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"It's no problem." Ryou replied, smiling as always. He really did seem happy today; not just a façade of happiness, but like something had been resolved. "I quite enjoyed having a guest for once."

"You still jumped into a body of water to help her out." Joey stated. "And I suspect that was a bigger deal then you made it out to be. You won't even walk through puddles…"

Ryou swallowed. He didn't realise anyone had noticed that… "Well," He said, sheepishly. "There's no better way to deal with your fears then to confront them, right? I honestly didn't think about it." He began to lead the way into the school, not noticing Joey's expression. Joey, meanwhile, wasn't quite sure what to make of all this. Once again convincing himself that it was just his slightly paranoid imagination- after all, Ryou was hardly likely to behave like Duke and Tristan- he pushed the thoughts away, and once again found himself wondering what Ryou had done to make Penelope hate him. A mystery was a mystery, and Joey loved them. He wouldn't rest until he'd patched all the clues together, painstakingly solved the puzzle, and knew the full truth. Alternatively, he could just ask…

"Ryou? Why does Penelope hate you?" He asked, bluntly. "Did you dump her?"

Ryou stopped short of the doors. Inside the building, the bell rang. They now had five minutes to get to form, or there would be trouble.

"Are you _still _obsessing over that?" Ryou sighed. "No. I didn't dump her. We… were just friends."

"What happened?" Joey asked, sensing that this was probably a bad question to ask, but unable to stop himself.

"We played Monster World." Ryou answered, shortly, knowing he couldn't evade the questions much longer. "Her brother ended up in a coma. I don't know what happened after that. Judging by the fact he's not here, I'd say he…" Ryou trailed off, shrugging. "Well. You can guess."

He swung the door open, and headed away, towards their classroom before he got his first ever late mark. Joey followed him, stunned. He felt a slight shifting of guilt squirm inside him. It had been slightly more serious then just him dumping her, then. Another fragment of Ryou's past had just been uncovered.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

None of them were nearly as light-hearted going home to school as they had been going into it, which was a strange inversion of average events. Everyone seemed to have something on their minds- mainly Yugi's troubling news. On the way to school that day, his grandfather had caught him up telling him that there had been people in the shop looking for him. Since then, student after student had come to Yugi reporting being waylaid on the way to school by people asking about him. Luckily, most of them had had the good sense not to tell them where he was, but he didn't know how long it would be till they found him. He was always being challenged to duels in the street, that was the way of things, but he'd never been stalked like this before. Why were they so desperate to meet him…?

"I just don't get it…" He said, pensively. "No-one's wanted to duel me this badly since…"

"Since Kaiba." Téa completed. "And all those creeps. Pegasus, Marik, Dartz and…" She trailed off to, glancing at Ryou.

"And that old 'friend' of mine." Ryou completed, showing no outward signs of the chill he felt inside.

"Yeah," Tristan agreed. "But don't forget all those other people. All ones that became our friends."

"That's true." Yugi nodded. "Leon, and Duke, and Rebecca…"

"Man." Tristan smiled in reminisce. "Now that I think about it, you've duelled a lot of people in your time. More then Joey, at least. But then, I guess you're just a better duellist all round." He smirked, waiting for Joey to rise to the bait. Then he realised the usually omni-present blond wasn't with them. "Hey… Where is he?"

"He said he had something to take care of." Téa shrugged. Ryou, however, went slightly pale.

"As do I." He said, hastily. "I have to go… I'm really sorry. If anything happens with those girls, then… well, you know, phone me. I'm sure you'll beat them. You beat everyone else, after all." He was already backed several steps away. "Goodbye!"

"…Strange guy." Tristan commented, as Ryou ran off into the horizon. "Who wants to follow them?"

The other two nodded. There was something very strange going on around here…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Penelope."

She turned, surprised to see Joey behind her. She was even more surprised that she hadn't heard him following her- they were some distance away from the school now, passing over the railway bridge, and it wasn't like he was particularly quiet.

"Hi, Joey…" She said, confused. He didn't usually walk this way.

"I need to talk to you." Joey said, confirming her suspicions. Why he couldn't have done it in school was quite beyond her. "About Ryou."

Penelope turned away, beginning to walk off in anger. "I don't want to talk about Ryou." She answered, bluntly. "And it's really none of your business."

"Please…" Joey said, quietly, catching hold of her shoulder. "Listen to me!"

"I said," Penelope replied, angry now, pulling away. "That's it's none of your business! I'm not going to tell you what happened!"

"Ryou already told me." Joey informed her. "But there's something you ought to know…" Penelope didn't answer, so he took that as invitation enough to continue. "You played Monster World with Ryou, didn't you? And your brother."

She nodded, slowly, gripping her bag tighter.

"So did we." Joey revealed slowly.

"Then…"

Joey nodded. "Yup. We all ended up sealed into the statues."

Penelope's face clouded in confusion, and she looked at him as if he was an idiot. "What?"

Joey blinked. "Oh, man… you don't know, do you? You think it was _Ryou_! You don't know what happened! Oh… that explains everything…" He started to smile. Penelope's frown deepened.

"What don't I know?" She demanded.

"When you played Monster World that time," Joey began cautiously. "Was he wearing the Millennium Ring?"

"The tacky gold thing? I think so…" Penelope didn't want to have this conversation. She didn't want to remember. But there was something, something deep inside that was whispering that maybe, just maybe, that friendship she'd had with the Bakura twins could be salvaged. She did miss them both so much, as much as she tried to convince herself she didn't…

"That was the cause of it all." Joey said, with an air of revelation. The rest all came out in a tumble. "The Ring… it was cursed, if you like. It had an evil spirit in it, who had this nasty habit of sealing souls into inanimate objects." Penelope was watching him with a strange expression. But then, she probably had never suspected anything like this. "He possessed Ryou. When he twigged what was happening, Ryou did his best to fight him but… He had Ryou fully under his control. And when you played Monster World with him, if you rolled a fumble, you'd be sealed inside the figure. And you have-"

"To stay forever in Monster World, with no escape, and no way back to friends, or family, or life as you know it… Trapped." Penelope completed, in a whisper. Joey nodded.

"So, you see, it really wasn't Ryou's fault. I mean, we defeated Monster World, so your brother should have woken up with the rest, but… Ryou couldn't help it. Please, can't you just stop hating him…?"

Penelope looked at him, enraged. "You… liar." She hissed. "Did Ryou ask you to cook up this little story?"

"No, it's true." Joey insisted. "Hard to believe, but true."

Penelope shook her head, tears forming in her eyes. "That's just sick. Making up some far-fetched… story? And he couldn't even tell me himself? This is just what he used to do when he was the Dark Master. Weave a web of lies using the NPCs around him." She paused slightly, drawing sobbing breaths. "Why would I believe _that_? Do you want to know what _really _happened! We were playing Monster World. And then he cursed Jay. I don't know how he did it, but he told him he would be trapped… trapped in Monster World, and that he wouldn't be able to talk to us… I don't know what he did exactly, or how. But to try and convince me he was possessed…"

"You said yourself you didn't know how to explain it!" Joey protested.

"We were in an _attic_!" Penelope screamed. "And Jason had allergies! Anything could have set it off! Besides, it was Ryou's game, and his story- if there was anything dangerous _he _should have known about it! Jason certainly didn't. He collapsed. And even then, Ryou just wanted to continue the game…! Amane told him to get an ambulance, but he wanted to finish the game! He didn't even care! And then he just… ran away."

"He did care." Joey said, softly. "He's been beating himself up about it since you got here."

"Then why is he lying to me…?" Penelope whispered. "Do you know what Jason does now, Joey, because of him? He sits in a wheelchair, and stares at a wall. All day, everyday. He just stares at a wall. He doesn't even speak to me, doesn't even _look_ at me. Do you have any idea how much that's hurt my family? Hurt me? I can't forgive Ryou. I'll never forgive him." The tears spilt out of her eyes, but she was unashamed, refusing to wipe them away. "What kind of… sicko do you have to be to go and tell someone stories about their sick brother? He couldn't even do it himself… Just… go away, Joey."

She began walking off. Joey called out to her, but she didn't stop, didn't look back. Joey didn't bother to go after her. Somehow, he didn't think that had helped an awful amount. He sighed deeply. Ryou had done him a favour, and if there was one thing Joey hated, it was being in someone's debt. He'd thought he could sort this thing between Penelope and Ryou out, not make things worse. Of course, he hadn't expected it to be easy, but he thought his explanation would have made some sort of sense to her, that he would have been able to convince her. It wasn't like she had any better ideas- ranting random things about allergies- even _she _didn't seem to know what she was saying. However, it seemed all he had done was make things worse…

"Excuse me," Someone said, startling him. "Um… You're Joey Wheeler, aren't you?"

Joey turned to see two girls, one older then him, one about the same age. She was the one who had spoken, and, just as Yugi's Grandpa had apparently described her, she had long, dark hair that occasionally stuck out at odd angles. Beneath the hat she wore, her eyes were brown and seemed a little apprehensive. Her complexion was a little lighter than her companion's, bronzed brown by the sun. The other girl had a darker, more natural looking colour, that reminded him of Ishzu; her hair also black, but hers was short, hanging about her ears. She was smiling brightly at him.

"That's right." Joey said, cautiously. A lot of the people who went after Yugi weren't people you wanted to mess with- but these girls didn't seem too threatening.

"I thought you duelled very well at Duellist Kingdom and Battle City." The one with the bob commented. "But your performance in the Grand Championship was a little disappointing."

"Oh, was it?" Joey demanded, irritated. "I bet I could still duel circles around you…"

"Yes! Let's duel!" She replied, excitedly. "I've always wanted to play a _real _duellist…"

That wasn't quite the reaction he'd been expecting, to say the least.

"No, no!" Her companion was saying desperately. "We're not here to duel! I just need to talk to Yugi! Do you know where he is? Or perhaps you could te-"

"If you want to 'talk' to Yugi," Joey was saying slowly, with a hint of threat. "You have to go through me."

"You don't understand!" She protested. "We're not looking for a fight!"  
"Well, you've found one." Joey replied. "And, we'll have it down there!"

"On the train tracks…?" She said, in dismay.

"Whoo!" His opponent whooped. "This is going to be fun!"

The other girl sighed something to herself in a foreign language.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When Serenity came out of school, there had been no sign of Ryou. She'd waited, probably longer then she should have done, but then gave up and began to walk home. It was strange, but it seemed a lot longer when she was alone. When she got back to the flat, it was deserted. Her father wasn't home, which wasn't unusual, but neither was Joey. A slight fear unrolled itself in her stomach. First Ryou, and now Joey. Neither of them had let her down before. There must be something wrong now. She was all set to go back out and look for them, but then, to her relief, the answering machine let out a plaintive bleep. Someone had left a message. When she hit play, it was Téa's voice that came out.

"Hi, Serenity? It's Téa. Look, get down to the train station just as soon as you get this. Joey's got it into his head to have a duel on the freakin' tracks. These girls have been looking for Yugi all day, and it seems Joey got in their way…" She paused, and she could just hear her conversing with Ryou. "Ryou's apologising for not meeting you." She sighed in exasperation a moment later. "Whatever. Just get here as soon as you can!"

Serenity was already half way out of the door, having started on the words 'train station'. She had hung around to hear the end of the message, though, and couldn't help but feel her heart had lifted slightly at Ryou's apology. Not that it mattered- it was an ample excuse enough. She raced down the few streets to the station, reaching the bridge. Looking down, she could see Joey in mid-duel with an Egyptian girl. But neither seemed to be paying attention. Nor did any of the others. All the attention seemed to be fixed on Ryou and a girl she didn't recognise locked in a tight embrace.

Her heart sank slightly again, although her head couldn't work out why.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou knew which way Joey had gone. A sinking instinct in his heart told him he had gone after Penelope. He had to stop him, didn't he know he'd only make things worse!

However, despite the speed he walked at, he saw neither Joey nor Penelope. Perhaps he'd been wrong. He came to rest half way across the railway bridge, leaning against the wall and sighing. If Joey had spoken to her, it was too late to do anything about it now. Besides, he could see no sign of the guy, so perhaps he'd been wrong. He stood again suddenly, realising that Serenity had probably been waiting for him while he'd been embarking on this wild goose chase. He was such an idiot… sighing deeply, he turned to go.

As he did so, he spotted Joey, standing on one of the runners in the middle of the tracks.

"What the…?"

"Ryou?" Téa's voice came from behind him, sounding concerned. "What's the matter?"

Ryou glanced up to see the others. He didn't bother questioning why they'd followed him for the moment, merely pointing at the predicament unfolding below them.

"Joey!" Yugi yelled in surprise. "He's duelling one of those girls my grandpa told me about!"

"We'd better get down there…" Téa muttered, and they began to head down to the platform. However, when they passed through what used to be the ticket office, Ryou caught hold of her arm.

"Do you know the telephone number for their flat?" He asked.

"You mean Joey's?" Téa blinked. "Yeah, I know it. Why?"

"I think we ought to tell Serenity to get down here…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey hadn't been expecting his opponent to accept the terms of duelling on the train tracks. In fact, he'd been trying to avoid a fight by scaring her out of it. But no, the girl- woman, really- had been more then willing to risk her neck. And Joey wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

Luckily for them, the station was disused and abandoned- the trains still rattled through, but they didn't stop anymore. As a result, no-one was around as he and his enemy dropped off the platform and onto the tracks, her friend watching anxiously. Joey snorted. If they wanted to cause trouble for Yugi, they'd have to go through him first. As a general rule, people who 'just wanted to talk' were never a good thing. He'd stop them here and now. He activated his duel disk. The Battle City tournament may have been over, but these things were still useful…

"I just brought mine today." The girl admitted, activating her own. Joey gave a mental smile. Apparently she wasn't all that experienced. "You can't get them in Egypt…"

"Then why don't you move first?" Joey offered, lifting a finger. "But first, the terms. If you win, I'll tell you where to find Yugi and anything else you want to know. But if _I _win, you leave him, and me, and all of us alone."

"Midha!" Her friend screamed from the platform. "You can't accept that! _Please_!"

"Chill, Abaca." Midha winked back. "I'm going to win!" She turned back to Joey. "I accept! And to start things off, I'll play these two magic cards, and this- Mermaid Knight, attack mode!" The knight appeared on the field, and she gave a small squeal of delight. "These holograms are fantastic! That Kaiba's a genius…"

"Hmmph…" Joey sighed, deciding this girl talked too much as he drew his first card. "I've been waiting to break in this new deck of mine! So I'll start with this- Kojikocy! And one card face down…"

"It's no use." Midha shot back. "It's equal in attack to my Mermaid Knight."

"That's alright." Joey replied, easily. "That's just there to defend me. You can't defeat it either, remember? Your move."

Midha smiled. "I can defeat it. I play this- A Legendary Ocean!"

Joey didn't need to ask what it did as, around them, water started to swirl, flooding the tracks. Thank goodness it was just a hologram, or they'd have to pay some serious damages to the council…

"Now my Knight has a 200 point attack boost!" Midha cried happily. "Go, Knight! Destroy his Kojikocy!"

"Reverse Trap!" Joey declared, activating his face down card. "This may be an old card, but the way it reverses attack point boosts can come in pretty handy, don't you think?" He smirked, as Midha's life points decreased by the 200 points.

"Because A Legendary Ocean is on the field, my knight can attack twice." Midha scowled. "But that's useless… until next turn. In the meantime, I'll play this, defence mode!" With a great flourish, she slammed another monster card down onto the field. However, it wasn't the great leviathan Joey had been expecting as a little frog hopped out, bouncing in excitement. "I end my turn."

"I'm supposed to fight _that_…?" Joey wondered, as the frog jumped up and down. He tried to ignore it- after all, next turn the Mermaid Knight would not only have it's field power bonus back but would be able to attack twice- but that little frog constantly going up and down and up and down and up and down was awfully distracting… Eventually, out of frustration, he yelled: "That's it! Kojikocy! I feel like some frog's legs! Go get that thing!"

As Kojikocy's sword pierced it, the frog let out a little whine, but nothing more. Midha, however, smiled.

"You just destroyed my Poison Draw Frog." She grinned. "Now I get to draw a card…"

"Big whoop." Joey sighed, as she took her card.

"Oh, I'd say it's a very big whoop indeed…" Midha muttered. "Are you done yet?"

"'Course not!" Joey smiled. "I'll equip Kojikocy with the Axe of Despair! Try getting past him now he's got an extra one thousand attack points!"

"Fine, I will." Midha replied, activating one of her magic cards. "I play Big Wave, Small Wave! By taking Mermaid Knight from the field, I can play a new monster from my hand! And I choose Gogiga Gagagigo!"

"You summon _what _now…?" Joey wondered, as the hideous vaguely chicken-like sea monster arose.

"Go-gi-ga Ga-ga-gi-go." She repeated, slowly. Joey couldn't help but snort. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you." Midha warned. "With A Legendary Ocean on the field, he has a _very nice _3150 attack points!"

"You what?" Joey blinked.

"Haven't you got it yet?" Midha laughed, enjoying herself to no end. "Then we'll show you! Go, Gogiga Gagagigo! Destroy Kojikocy!"

"This isn't good…" Joey muttered, as he lost 650 life points. At least the Axe of Despair had saved him some life points…

"Your go!" Midha shouted, smiling. She didn't seem to be taking this particularly seriously.

_Yeah… _Joey thought _But how am I going to get rid of something with that much attack in just one move? I've got to buy some time…_

"Gravity Bind!" He yelled, placing the trap card down. "Now all monsters above Level Four can't attack!"

"Wow!" Midha laughed. "I use those cards to!"

"Good for you." Joey answered, annoyed she didn't seem more bothered. "I'm done, I guess."

"Okay." She shrugged. "I'll play… The Amphibious Bugroth, MK-3. And as long as A Legendary Ocean is on the field, he can attack Life Points directly!"

"Not with Gravity Bind in play!"

"Did I mention A Legendary Ocean downgrades all water monsters by one level? Sorry…"

"Now she tells me." Joey muttered, as 1500 more of his life points went down the drain. He looked again at his hand. He was getting worried now- there didn't seem to be anything he could do at all, not with the cards he had now.

Wait a minute. Unless he could-

"Joey, you idiot!" Someone yelled. Joey looked up to see his friends arrive, Tristan looking annoyed.

"Hey, if you gave me another minute I could have gotten myself out of this!" Joey yelled back as his friends ran down the ramp onto the platform.

"You just _have _to pick fights, don't you, Joey!"

"I said this will only take a minute!" Joey yelled, annoyed. This was what he got for trying to help Yugi out. It seemed Tristan didn't get that.

"You don't have another minute!" Another voice called. "The train passes through here in three! Get off the tracks, now!"

Abaca started. She hadn't taken the time to look at the new arrivals, having been off in her own little world, but at that voice- his voice- she did. And there he was. Ryou. Ryou, the one she'd thought to be dead, was standing there before her, barely a metre away. She'd known he was alive from that glimpse of him on the television, but had hardly dared to believe it. Hardly dared to believe she would find him. But there he was, frowning slightly at his impulsive friend. It appeared he hadn't noticed her in the urgency of the situation. Or perhaps he just didn't recognise her. She had to get his attention. But the words had dried up in her throat. Suddenly, she was nervous, more nervous then she'd been on the plane, more frightened then Ryou was of water. The words were gone. Shakily, she reached out, touching him lightly on the arm.

Ryou jumped on the contact, turning to face her. For a moment, there was confusion, and she felt extreme sadness that he hadn't recognised her. Then it was replaced by a different look. Slowly, he went to remove her hat. She allowed him to do so. His hands were shaking to, just as hers were. The hat came away, and light fell on her face again, on the shape of her features, on the colour of her eyes. Ryou looked at them, shock showing in his own. He mouthed a few things, but nothing would come out for some time.

"It's me." She whispered, taking hold of his hands. "It's me. I found you."

"But…" He replied, equally quietly. "You can't have done. I… I mean, you're dead!"

"I could say the same to you." She muttered, in mock indigence. "But apparently not."

"Apparently not…" He agreed, at a loss for words. "But… I don't understand… Where…?"

"Oh, shut up." She muttered, grabbing hold of him, hugging him hard. He hugged her back, the feel of her body assuring him she was really there. It wasn't just his imagination, like in the early days, and he wasn't mad. Some how, some way, she was alive, and she was here. She'd got a tan and her hair was black, but she was here. He wanted to cry. He wasn't sure if it was out of happiness or sadness or just confusion, but he didn't. Due to the detached feeling coming from his brain, he guessed he'd gone into some sort of shock. But that didn't matter at that moment, because another hole had been filled.

He was a twin again.

"Amane…" He whispered. She hugged her brother more tightly.

"It's been so long since anyone called me that…"

"You…" He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say. "You dyed your hair."

"Yes."

In the drama of the moment, no-one remembered or noticed the imminent arrival of Serenity.

In the drama of the moment, everyone had forgotten the imminent arrival of the train.

But they couldn't fail to notice it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto's office was his sanctuary, away from the idiots he wasn't entirely sure why he employed anyway. It was a place where he could work in peace. No-one dared disturb him when he was in his office. Except Mokuba. But then again, Mokuba disturbed him no matter what he was doing. It was rare that anyone else went in, and Seto wanted to keep it that way.

So he wasn't happy to see him in his office.

"What are you doing here?" He sighed, not questioning how he'd got in. It didn't matter how good security was, they had no defence against him.

Not yet, at least.

"You've brought this upon yourself." He said, spreading his hands wide in a combination of a shrug and a pleading gesture. "You're being so… uncooperative."

"Yes, and I intend to continue being so." Seto answered, firmly. "I do not work for you. Now get out."

The guy laughed. "What are you going to do? Throw me out the window? Toss the desk at me? Come on, Seto, I need a favour… Remember everything we did for you? At the orphanage?"

"Get out." Seto repeated, dangerously.

"Well, I could…" The guy drawled, leaning on the desk casually. "But, of course, you'd set security on me. Still, they didn't get me on the way in, so I might be able to sneak out. But they're so well trained! There's _no way _I could have got in… Unless, say, I _teleported _or something."

Seto said nothing.

"And if I could teleport into here," he continued, as if this was a leisurely chat. "I could get in anywhere. Like a bank. Or… your house. I bet, if I tried, I could go right into your brothers room…"

"Perhaps." Seto smirked, refusing to rise to the empty threats. "But then you'd loose something very valuable to you. And besides," He added, his smirk turning slightly malicious. "I don't believe in Superheroes, remember?"

"Well… that's a pity, isn't it…? I guess we'll have to talk again later." The man sighed theatrically, before slowly fading out of view.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Family is one of those funny words. It's definition has become something entirely different to what it means. That is, it's literal meaning- a group of blood relations- seems to have taken a back seat to what it implies. Loyalty, and love, and trust, and all the rest._

_Blood is such a fragile thing. I mean, my family was torn away from me- I still don't know if my dad is alive or dead. And Serenity's family- she seems to hate her mom, and her parents hate each other, and if Joey's capable of hating anyone he certainly hates their dad. The Kaiba brothers, to- Seto may be fiercely protective of Mokuba, but people seem determined to get in the way of that as they keep kidnapping the poor boy. And yet, the family, that, as far as the literal meaning of the word goes, does not exist, is all the stronger. If you look at our group of friends… we argue sometimes, but I think our group is everything a family should be._

_Saying this makes me a hypocrite. I've always appreciated my friends here, I'm lucky to have them- but I know, deep down, they're no substitute. As much as they give, there's just something missing. Another hole in my soul.  
I was never alone, not with my friends here. But now I'm really not alone anymore. Amane is alive. _

_I have a family again. In Amane, and in my friends. That's all I need. That's all I've ever wanted. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Nyhaha… Our first cliffie, I think. But Amane is back! At freakin' last, that's all I can say. I'm so _sick _of typing 'Abaca'. Still, don't worry, full explanations should be in the next chapter; provided they don't get smushed by the train. It was a bit of a dumb idea to have it on the train tracks really, wasn't it:P Still, please, tell me if you saw that one coming! Because I think it was very, very obvious; but then, I had a biased perspective. I mean, I still think you'd have got it- I've been dropping hints all over everywhere, after all. Still- tell me what you thought! That 'reuniting' scene was awful to write… I kept having interruptions. _(Sigh) _

Now, then. Before I do our traditional rhetorical questions- I forgot last chapter, can you believe it!- I promised I'd do some _absolutely shameless _plugging. So here we are. If you don't like _absolutely shameless _plugging, feel free to skip down to the end. Because, let's face it, they're like the ad breaks on television. It just gets in the way. _(Ahem) _Anyways, to commence the plugging, one of my friends FINALLY (And I really do mean _FINALLY) _got an account, and has begun posting her fic. Despite much adversity, which I am now having, but I divulge. And you should all go read it, 'cause I'm the star. Well, sort of. Well, okay, I'm not. But I'm _in _it! Well, okay, I'm not. Actually, it _started _as me, and now is altered to suit **Scooby2408's **evil motives and has some dodgy name which I can't pronounce, spell or remember. _(Ahem once again) _This probably isn't the best plugging ever. Let's try again. Okay, so, two or three years ago, she began telling me about her idea for a self-insertion- or rather, the YGO series, only with us and others we know replacing the cast. Over the years, I've sat through hours and hours of nights and evenings and afternoons and registrations and history and B-tec lessons and lunch hours and so have a… pretty in depth idea of how it's developed from a mere re-write type self-insertion (THE EVIL! Let's face it, no-one can do it better the **PacketofPocky** or someone already has) to a more independent fic that follows the basic storyline with something a little more sinister going on beneath it. But I can't tell you what that is. Nu-uh, no way. 'Tis secret. Wow, this is one of the longest shameless plugging sessions I've ever witnessed; I'm such a disgrace. Seriously, though. Go and read it. She's sat through all my fics, after all. Besides, if you don't, I'll never hear the end of it. (_(Whispers) _But don't give her more reviews then me, because then I'd be jealous).

There. That's **Scooby2408's Flight of Dreams, **everyone. The prologue is about the same length as that plugging, though- under-exaggeration, yes, but you get the point- so it won't take long. Surely you can spare the time… _(Puppy eyes)_

There we are. You can lower the gun now, **Scooby**. Loosening the ropes on this chair might be nice, to. It kinda makes it hard to type…

_(Ahem)_

And so, to conclude this depressingly long A/N:- How did Amane survive the fire? How will things change between Ryou and Serenity, and will her brother be crushed under a train wheel? And what will Seto do now? Join me next time in **A Superhero Story Chapter Five- A Mask**, in which there will actually be some Superhero-ing.

I promise.

_--A/N: Good news, my two readers! Looking on my stats, there are 3 or 4 others hanging around. Mweee...Feel free to come and say 'Hi', people...--_


	6. A Mask

A/N: I GOT THIS DONE BEFORE I WENT AWAY FOR THE WEEKEND! _(Keels over in shock) _But ne'r mind. Let's (finally) get on with it:

Disclaimer: Same old, same old…

Chapter Five: A Mask

"I attack with the Mystical Shine Ball!" Ryou declared, and Amane snorted. "You may laugh, but… it…" He trailed off, looking out of the window. The two were sitting on the floor of Ryou's bedroom, which was slightly cleaner then Amane's, just beneath the window which looked out on a typical English suburb. Amane craned her neck to try and see what he was looking at.

"What? What is it?" She asked. Ryou gave no reply, suddenly leaping into action and diving under the bed. "Ryou?"

"It's that gang leader!" Ryou said, voice muffled as he hunted around under his bed for his mask. He remerged, his hair even more ruffled then usual, and put it on; making sure his hair was hidden. White was just too easily recognisable. "The one we've been looking for."

"Are you going after him right now?" Amane asked, anxiously. It was midday on a Saturday. The criminal was stupid enough to be out, let alone Ryou going after him. They'd be spotted easily. Ryou was preparing regardless, placing the Ring down onto his bed. He had no proper costume besides his mask. He'd put it in the washing machine at the wrong temperature and it had stretched out of all shape, with no hope of it being redeemed.

"I've got to." He answered, pulling the window open. He paused for a moment on the sill, and looked back at her, features hidden by the silver material. "Don't worry."

"Ryou, this guy's tough. He won't hesitate to kill you! Are you sure-"

"Don't worry." Ryou repeated firmly.

"I don't." Amane assured him, sighing. "I just hate being left behind." Then she shrugged, as Ryou hesitated. "Go on then, Faceless! Go catch yourself another criminal!"

Ryou nodded, and hurled himself down into the street. The man was far enough away now not to see where he came from. He chased the man, and caught him, not knowing that when he returned his house, and his mom, would be gone.

Amane to, sitting and picking dejectedly at the carpet before sighing and beginning to gather up the cards. This had happened a lot since Ryou had discovered his powers. She didn't have any. So she was left behind. He tried to include her; indeed, not even their mom knew, but sometimes… She felt a little jealous. She understood well that it wasn't as glamorous as the comic books made out, but while her brother was out doing good, she was stuck here. They were twins. They should face these things together.

She headed back to her own room, biting her lip. She had been glad for Ryou, of course, she thought it helped him face the guilt of all those people that ended up in comas. She couldn't work out what kept happening. She had stopped playing herself after Jason. She was ashamed, but she was too frightened to play a game with her own brother. He still played though, despite all the… accidents. Ryou didn't seem to know how else to make friends. Or maybe he just didn't know how to stop. But after Jason…

Amane began to wonder vaguely how Jason was. She and Penelope sent letters back and forth, which was usually easier said then done, as they moved so often, but Penelope never mentioned her brother. Amane wondered if he had woken up, and if he was alright. She hoped he had. She picked up a pen, and pulled out a piece of paper. She would ask this time. This letter, she would finally write it…

_D_ea_r P_e_n_e_l_o_p_e

_H_o_p_e _y_ou_'r_e _d_oi_ng _o_k_a_y! _I_'v_e _b_ee_n m_ea_n_i_ng to _a_sk: H_o_w's J_a_s_o_n? Y_ou _h_a_v_e_n't m_e_nt_io_n_e_d h_i_m s_i_nce Ry_ou a_nd m_e _f_i_rst m_o_v_e_d. _I_s h_e _st_i_ll_

Amane screwed up the paper, and then thought better of it and unfolded it, tearing it into shreds. She couldn't write that! There was a strict unspoken agreement- she never mentioned Ryou, and neither Penelope. And they never mentioned what had happened to make them move in the first place. Ryou knew nothing about the correspondence either. She didn't want to upset him. Not when he finally seemed to have some sort of purpose to his life. She went to start again, but there was a smell of smoke that was starting to irritate her. It wasn't uncommon for her mom to burn the food, but normally she noticed. Perhaps her mom had dropped off again…

However, when Amane opened her bedroom door, there was a hint of heat that suggested something more serious was up, and tentacles of smoke were coming up the stairs towards her. Leaning over the landing, she could see the fire, it was in the kitchen after all, but it wasn't just some burnt food, that was for sure. Then, a spark flew, and the hall carpet was alight. Amane watched in horror, and then ran down the stairs part of the way.

"Mom?" She yelled. "Mom!"

The living room door was blocked, and, as she reached the foot of the stairs, so to was the front door. She was about to start heading back up when her mom appeared at the door to the dining room, also blocked.

"Mom!"

"Amane!" Her mom shouted back, coughing on the amount of smoke in the house. "Get up stairs! Now!"

"But-"

"Amane! The front door is blocked, so the back, and the windows are too small to get out of! We've got to go up!"

The fire was licking the bottom of the stairs. Amane screamed shortly, and looked at her mom in despair.

"Go!" Her mom yelled. "I'm right behind you!"

Amane turned and ran. That was the last conversation she had with her mom. She was standing at the bathroom window, wondering if she could shimmy down the drainpipe, when she heard the most almighty crash. She rushed out again, tears streaming in the smoke, unable to breathe. The stairs had collapsed. Her mom was nowhere to be seen, and now she was right out in the thick of the flames…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The room was unfamiliar. Amane had woken up, but she didn't know where. Her arms and back hurt.

"Amane?"

Amane rolled over at the voice, surprised. "Penelope!"

The girl smiled. "Thank goodness. I almost thought… it was happening again."

Amane levered herself up, holding her head. "What _did _happen…?" She wondered aloud, before starting to piece her memory together. "Ryou had gone. And then there was… fire, and smoke… and the stairs…I'm in hospital, aren't I?"

"Yes." Penelope nodded. "Your house set on fire. Your arms and back got burnt up pretty bad…"

"So I can tell." Amane smiled wryly, ignoring the aches in her back. They must have pumped her full of painkillers. Apart from the pain, however, she didn't feel too bad. A house was just a house to her. When you moved as often as they did, you don't get attached to a building. "What are you doing here?"

"They got in touch with us after it happened. You had your phone in your pocket, and I happened to be at the top. And then my mom and I came down."

"Thank you." Amane said, hugging her. Her arms were bandaged up to the elbow and moved stiffly, hurting when she tried, but she did her best. "It's good to see you… Now, where's mom?"

"Amane…" Penelope hesitated. Amane pulled away.

"She's… she's okay, isn't she?" Amane asked, worried now. "Penelope? Tell me! What happened? Was it her face that got burnt? Or did she loose one of her limbs? She can still walk, right? We can't afford to have the house converted for a wheelchair! Oh… Not that we have a house any more... I suppose we could get one of those bungalows. Right? And wheelchairs get to skip all the queues at theme parks! So we'll get out of hospital, and it'll be great! Right?" Penelope didn't look at her, studying the floor. "Penny…" She begged. "Right?"

"Amane…" Penelope began again, swallowing. "She died. The stairs collapsed on her. I'm sorry."

"But…" Amane stared at her, and then shook her head. "Okay- What about Ryou! Where's Ryou!" She demanded.

"No-one knows." Penelope replied, trying to keep the harshness out of her voice- she knew what it was like to loose a brother- but not quite managing it.

"He's dead." Amane said, flatly.

"Well, we don't know-" Penelope began, but her heart wasn't in it. Amane shook her head again, cutting her off.

"No. He's been missing since the day of the fire right? Everyone's assuming he's dead. I bet the police are just _waiting _for his body to show, right?"

"Amane…" Penelope tried. "I'm sorry. Please… I'm so, so sorry."

"Don't you _dare _say you're sorry!" Amane yelled, and then rested her head on her knees, drawing ragged breaths as she began to cry uncontrollably. Vaguely, she registered she shouldn't have gone off at her like that. But as they remained motionless, it became clear she didn't have to apologise. Penelope came and awkwardly wrapped an arm around her.

"I've lost everything, Penny…" Amane said, softly.

"You've got me." Penelope promised. "I know we're not as close as we were when we were kids. I know since you moved away and Jay… it's been harder, but you've got me." She lowered her voice. "You can stay with us until…" She trailed off.

"Until when, Penelope?" Amane whispered. "Until when? Who's waiting for me now?"

Penelope had no answer. But, later, Amane did. There was a whisper in her brain. She pushed it aside. The gang member Ryou had been chasing after couldn't have killed him. She had to wait for Ryou. She stayed with Penelope, back in her home town, but she rang the police every day, hoping they'd found something. They never did. Her mom was gone, and Ryou had disappeared without a trace. It was the only thing that kept her going through the grief. She couldn't eat more then a few bites, she only slept when her eyes couldn't stay open, and still there was a whisper. She waited a month at Penelope's house. There was no sign of Ryou. She couldn't even give her mom a funeral. The body was required as evidence- apparently, there was 'suspicious circumstances' surrounding the fire. Amane didn't care. She just wanted her brother and mom back; or at least to put her mom to rest properly. After a month, the Police were finished with the post mortem at last- Amane didn't feel it had been their top priority, somehow- and her mom got a funeral. They still didn't know the cause of the fire. And Ryou still hadn't turned up. By now, the hope that he had survived was diminished, and the whisper all the louder. At the wake following her mom's funeral, Amane managed to slip away, and took the next plane to Egypt. That was the last she saw of Penelope. She left a note explaining she had gone to find her father, but not where. She couldn't let anyone interfere.

There was a whisper in her head, reminding her that she might still have one family member left. Her father had last been heard of on a dig in Egypt. She would go to a town near to the old site. She would find him. She would tell him what had happened to his wife and son. He might not care- he hadn't been in touch since they turned thirteen in anything more then a brief postcard, and even those had stopped a few weeks later- but she'd tell him, and live with him, and it would be fine. She wasn't going to go into Care. Her mom wouldn't want that. She had always told Amane and Ryou that, should they end up without her, they should use her life insurance money to do something important to them. Right now, this was the most important thing to Amane. She hoped her mom would have approved.

The whisper didn't stop when she reached the town, and nothing had been seen or heard of 'Professor Bakura' since he had left some years ago. It didn't stop when she became Abaca, with no surname, and with no parents. It didn't stop when she lost her characteristic white hair, dying it black to fit in. It didn't stop regardless of the fact that months and years passed with no luck. Now she had given up on her brother, she didn't have anything else to hope for. So she had to find her dad. She just had to. For some reason, she never told Midha who he was. She didn't want the pity.

Amane never found her father. Yet, just as the hope was beginning to die, she'd seen that old recording of Ryou- his hair longer then ever, but undoubtedly him. An old hope had come back with a vengeance. She used the last of her savings on the ticket to Domino Airport. It was her last chance. She'd never get back to Egypt. This was her last shot.

Ryou was alive. And she'd found him, as the two stood, hugging, on an abandoned train platform, a million miles from where they'd begun.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Amane…"

"It's been so long since anyone called me that…"

"You…You dyed your hair."

"Yes."

Joey blinked, completely forgetting about his awesome play as Ryou held the girl that had accompanied his opponent like he couldn't quite believe she was there. He didn't really want to interrupt, but curiosity was beginning to get the better of him. He'd heard the name 'Amane' before- Penelope had mentioned her. Yet, he had no idea who she was. It seemed a lot of Ryou's past was coming back to him now.

"Um…" He said, tentatively. "Ryou? Who…?"

Ryou pulled away, looking around in apparent surprise at them all, as though he'd forgotten they were there. Then he began to smile, but looked like he was about to cry.

"Everyone… This is Amane." He said, almost unable to believe it.

"I'm his twin sister." She added, by way of explanation, smiling also. Joey looked at her more closely, as did the others. Indeed, now that the hat had gone, you could tell. Her skin had tanned from her days in a hot country, and her hair was a different colour, but you could still tell. They looked the same.

"Ryou!" Téa was saying indignantly. "You never said you have a sister!"

"I didn't!" Ryou protested. Then he reconsidered. "Well, I _did, _obviously, and then I didn't, and now I do. If you see what I mean."

"Not really…" Joey began, and then trailed off. The ground beneath him was starting to shake. "…Oh no…"

"Joey! The train!" Yugi yelled.

"Midha!" Amane screamed. "_Move_!"

The two were way ahead of her, scrambling for the edge of the platform as the train loomed down in front of them. The next few seconds were chaos. Joey and Midha ran, she tripped on one of the rails and stumbled, before Joey grabbed hold of her, dragging her along until she regained her balance, but it was all useless. Even if she hadn't tripped, they wouldn't have made it. Several people screamed, for all the good it would do. The driver slammed down on the breaks, which slowed his progress, but not enough. There was no time. Joey and Midha reached the edge of the tracks just as it was about to hit.

The train juddered to a halt, and, for a moment, Joey and Midha stood frozen in fear. Yugi and Tristan ran to the edge to help pull them up, and so no-one noticed Ryou sighing in relief, lowering his raised arm. Amane looked at him with a cocked eyebrow, the only one who had realised he'd set the air against the train, slowing it, stopping it in its tracks.

"You've still got it, then." She muttered. Ryou shrugged.

"I lost it for a while." He whispered back. "I still can't believe it. Amane, how did you-"

"Catch up later!" Tristan yelled, tugging on his arm. "There's a very angry train driver just there, and if we don't run, he'll have the police down here!"

They ran, but ground to a halt just outside the doors to the old station. Serenity was standing there, looking upset. She hugged her brother hard, but then pulled away enough to swat his arm.

"Joey! _Why _have a duel on _train tracks_! You could have been killed!"

"Sorry…" Joey muttered, sheepishly. Behind him, Ryou sighed and leant against the wall, closing his eyes. First Amane, and then the train… He was supposed to be explaining to the others who she was and how she'd come to be here, and he didn't even know himself. The drama was too much to take at once…

"Ryou?" Serenity asked. "You alright?"

Ryou nodded, standing again, and smiled slightly. "Time for introductions." He muttered, glancing at his sister. "Serenity… I'd like you to meet Amane."

"Amane?" She repeated, surprised, staring at the girl. "But I thought…"

"So did I." Ryou laughed giddily. His mood kept swinging from confusion to extreme happiness. Perhaps the how and why didn't matter so much. She was back. That was good enough for him.

Serenity felt stupidly happy as well. It was his sister. Someone he loved who he had thought to be dead. But he loved her as a sister. She pushed the thoughts from her brain, coming to her senses. She didn't like to think about why that seemed so significant to her. When push came to shove- deny _everything_.

"Amane," Ryou began, getting ready to list. "This is Serenity, her brother, Joey, Yugi you know, Tristan and Téa." He smiled. "They're very good friends of mine."

"I see." Amane murmured back, her smile slipping for a moment. It reasserted itself a second later. "Well, this is Midha." She turned to look at her friend, who just glared back. "Oh… I think she's going to kill me for not telling her… Sorry?"

"…I can't believe this!" Ryou laughed again. "Amane! _How_ did you get here! I thought you were dead!"

"Nope, I'm alive." Amane reassured him, smiling. "And… well, that's a bit of a story."

An awkward silence descended upon the group.

"…Perhaps we ought to leave you two to catch up." Serenity said, eventually. The others hurriedly agreed, and Ryou and Amane slipped off, back in the direction of his flat. Midha did not accompany them. As soon as they were out of sight, she turned back to Joey.

"We need to finish our duel!" She declared. Then she turned to Yugi, and winked. "I think he was about to beat me… But can I play you next anyway?"

"I thought you didn't want a duel…" Téa pointed out. "You just wanted to 'talk', right?"

"_Abaca_ just wanted to talk." Midha dismissed. "I came here to duel champions!"

"Well, who am I to deny you that?" Joey answered, activating his disk once again.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"This is nice…" Amane said, following him into the living room and sitting down on the settee. It was weird. Things were a little awkward between them, they hadn't spoken in so long; and yet, somehow, she felt perfectly comfortable with him. It felt like days, not years, had passed.

Ryou nodded, sitting down to. "So… Explain. I saw mom being lifted out of the house. I thought…"

"Why do _I _have to go first?" Amane demanded.

"…A lot's happened to me in the last few years." Ryou answered, cryptically.

"And how do you know my life hasn't been _incredibly _eventful?" She pouted. Ryou looked out of the window, and answered without looking at her.

"Do you still have that amulet dad sent you when we were thirteen?" He asked. Amane nodded, confused.

"Sure, it's right here." She answered, lifting one of her hands. She wore long, elbow length fingerless gloves, but the amulet was on top. "Why? Hey… What happened to your thing? You always used to wear it…"

"It's buried. Under several tons of sand and rock. In a cave. In a desert. In the middle of Egypt."

"…Maybe I will go first." Amane reconsidered, before launching straight into the story of what had happened to her since he had left to go after that gang leader. When she'd finished, Ryou shook his head in dismay.

"I was in Egypt for a while. I was so close to you, and I never even realised…"

"Never mind that!" Amane dismissed, leaning closer to him. "C'mon! What are you doing in _Japan_…?"

Ryou told her everything. How he had come to Japan with the same idea as her- to find their father. It was so silly. They had both had it in their heads to find him, but Amane had headed to where he had last been seen, and Ryou to where he was seen the most often, and they'd ended up on different sides of the planet. He told of how he'd got sidetracked and given up; how he'd played Monster World with Yugi and the others. He explained about the Millennium Items, and his Yami. He told her what he remembered of Duellist Kingdom and Battle City and everything else. He told her about the day the Ring was destroyed, and then he told her about how he'd just a few days ago begun to use his powers again. And then, he stopped.

"…That's a pretty amazing story." Amane agreed, and Ryou felt a rush of gratitude that she'd believed him so easily. "Hmmph…You make my life look boring. But… Ryou, if you'd just waited a few more minutes, you would have seen I was alive. I waited _a month _for you. Why couldn't you have waited a just a few minutes…?"

"I know." Ryou answered. "I just… I was so scared… I just ran. But then, if I hadn't, the Ring would never have been destroyed. And everyone would still be…"

Amane was silent for a while. Then, quietly, she asked "This… Spirit. He can't come back, right?"

Ryou shook his head. "No."

Amane snorted. "It's probably best for him that he can't! I'd give him a piece of my mind! _Then _we'd see who was 'the darkness'!"

Ryou considered her, and, slowly, began to smile. He couldn't help it; he snorted, and before he could stop himself he was laughing. Amane looked at him in confusion.

"What?" She demanded, again and again. "What?"  
"It's just…" He tried, hardly able to breathe now. "It's just… you…"

"Me?" Amane asked. His laughter was contagious.

"I can just imagine you… his face… you'd get…" Ryou was completely unable to finish his sentences and thus explain what it was he found so amusing. The sight of him incapacitated in such a way got Amane laughing to, and soon they were both there, tears pouring down their faces. Nothing was particularly funny, but they were together again at last. Perhaps the most amusing thing was that it was if the years had been brushed irrelevantly away, to the surprise of both of them, it was as if they had never been apart. Then, as the laughter finally died down, Ryou came to two sudden realisations.

They'd ended up lying on the floor laughing, just like when they were kids, and Ryou sat up now, his hair ruffling behind him.

"What's up?" Amane asked.

"I _still _don't have any food!" Ryou moaned. "And… I don't have a spare room!"

"Well… It's a little late in the day to be eating now anyway…" Amane pointed out, glancing up at the clock. While they hadn't been looking, the hands had continued to sneak cunningly around the face, now nearing midnight. "And as for the spare room… What about that fourth door? Opposite us?"

"That's not a spare room." Ryou said, and stood up, gesturing at her to follow. Mystified, she did. The door opened to reveal a small room containing only some boxes and a metal staircase. He ascended the stairs easily, his sister behind him, and they reached the roof.

"Wow…" Amane said, glancing around her slightly nervously and backing away from the edge.

"Still afraid of heights?" Ryou teased, lightly.

"Still afraid of water?" She shot back. "Besides, I'm not afraid of heights. I'm afraid of falling from them."

"It's perfectly safe." Ryou assured her, standing up on the wall that ran around the perimeter to prove his point.

"Ryou, get down from there!"

"It's alright!" Ryou laughed. "I always…" He trailed off, looking at something down in the street that, in her current position, Amane couldn't see. Tentatively, she approached the edge.

"What is it?" Ryou merely pointed down into the depths of an alleyway some streets away. Squinting in the light that the street lamps provided, Amane could just make out a man and a woman, having an argument. The man tried to walk away, but the woman grabbed hold of his arms, started hitting him.

"He won't hit her back…" Amane murmured. "But if they keep this up, she'll kill him!" She turned to Ryou, who was looking intently at her now, and sighed. "Well, don't wait for my position! Go on, Faceless, do your thing!"

"Actually," Ryou replied. "No-one calls me that anymore." He jumped. Amane stood, and, from her vantage point, watched him save someone else, as she waited on the sidelines.

"It really is…" She sighed. "Just like it used to be."

It was windy on the roof, and she shuddered slightly in the cold. She ducked back inside, to her new home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It was Monday lunchtime, but Ryou was not in the canteen or outside. Instead, he sat in their now empty classroom, one leg tucked beneath him in a way he wouldn't get away with in class, frowning at the paper before him. His pen twirled idly in his left hand, his right absent mindedly flicking the Spiderman comic he'd been using to lean on.

Amane had arrived on that Friday afternoon, and such a lot had happened since then. Yugi had found himself putting Midha up for a few nights, leaving Ryou with his sister. She was sleeping on the sofa for now, but they'd decided that eventually she would have Ryou's, slightly larger, room; while he'd attempt to cram in and around the foot of the stairs, and would get roof access. He had no idea how they'd afford it. But he wasn't worrying too much about that now. It was amazing. He almost hadn't realised how much he'd missed her until she was back. The weekend had been one of the best. It was strange, because finally being reunited at last meant it felt like something special should happen, but there was nothing to be done, except… hang out. So, that's what they did. With Serenity, and Midha, and Yugi and all the others; showing the two new comers around a bit. He'd duelled Midha just as all the others had, and eventually won- but only by using the Destiny Board. She really was a good player, and when, the day before, they'd said goodbye, Amane seemed understandably upset. But she refused to go back to Egypt. Ryou didn't say it in so many words, but he was glad she'd decided not to leave him again.

When Monday had arrived, he'd left her at home- with her promising 'to be good'- in order to go to school. The first thing he'd done was pick up the mountain of paper work that she'd have to fill in to get a place at the school. He was beginning to fill it in himself- she wouldn't have a clue- but it was so much harder when he had no legal parent or guardian… The only other item in the room was a book on one desk, and a bag on another, that some people had left behind from the previous class. Unfortunately, one of the owners was about to come back for it. Penelope threw the door open to see Ryou there.

"Ryou!" She gasped, then looked away. "I'm just getting my book."

Ryou nodded, and turned back to what he was doing. What could he even say…? He needed to tell her Amane was alive. He owed that to her. But how to get into a conversation with someone he hated…?

"Penelope…" He began, hesitantly. "I need to tell you something."

"Don't bother." She replied, looking at the floor. Then she slammed a fist down on his table, startling him. "If this is that crap about the Ring you got your little…" She trailed off, seeing what her fist was leaning on. "This is an application form! You're not moving school?"

"…Not exactly…" Ryou answered. "Penelope… Amane, she's alive!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Hey," Joey said suddenly, looking around at the bustling canteen and swallowing his mouthful of crisps. "Where's Ryou?"

"He had to do some paper work so Amane can apply here." Yugi informed him. "He's in the Maths room."

Téa looked surprised, then worried. "Um… Not the same maths room that Penelope was just going back to, right?"

They looked at each other in concern.

"We'd better go!" Tristan declared, eventually. "If Ryou puts his foot in it, he's done for!"

They stood, and started heading hurriedly after Penelope. Joey kept his thoughts to himself. He hadn't told anyone about Penelope's brother, not even Ryou. He just couldn't bring himself to do it…

"It's such a shame they don't get on…" Téa was sighing. "They're both such nice people- I wonder why she hates him so…?"

Joey still remained silent. It wasn't Ryou's fault, but then, if Penelope couldn't accept that… well, she had every right to hate him. Then they heard a sound they never thought they'd hear- Ryou was yelling. Not in fear, but in anger; a mish-mash of rapid, animal shouts they couldn't even understand. They ran last few metres, and between him, Tristan and Yugi, managed to restrain him. Eventually, the strength and the rage drained out of him, and he sat down, looking surprised. Penelope fled the room.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"…Not exactly…" Ryou answered. "Penelope… Amane, she's alive!"

Penelope blinked. "Is she here to?"

"Yes, that's who the application form is for." Ryou replied. "…You don't seem surprised…"

"Nah, I knew I'd see her again." Penelope smiled. Something inside screamed at her not to take her guard down, remember who she was speaking to, but she ignored it. Just this once.

"Even though she was supposedly dead?" Ryou asked, mystified.

"Dead?" Penelope laughed. "What are you talking about? You're the one who was supposed to be dead! Amane just went off to look for her dad!"

Ryou didn't reply. He didn't even look at her, he just stared at the desk. It was rather disconcerting. His hands curled into fists, his breathing haggard. She'd never seen him like this… If he was having some sort of attack, she'd have to fetch the nurse, regardless of personal feelings.

"Ryou…?"

"You… you knew… she was alive." Ryou hissed, slowly standing up. "You knew she was alive- and you didn't tell me!"

"What?" Penelope echoed. "I didn't know-"

"Don't lie!" Ryou screamed. "Don't lie! Why didn't you _tell _me! You of all people should _know _what it's like!"

"I thought you-" Penelope began, frightened. She'd never seen Ryou loose it before, it scared her. She backed away, but Ryou didn't seem to notice her words nor her movement, he just continued to rant, things she couldn't even understand. It was like he'd gone mad. Still ranting, he took a step towards her. Penelope retreated again, backing into a chair leg and ending up on the floor. Thankfully, the others arrived on the scene just then. Yelling, Joey and Tristan grabbed hold of his arms as Yugi pushed him back, away from her.

"Woah, Ryou, calm down!" Joey shouted, as Ryou struggled and thrashed against them.

"He's gone totally nuts!" Tristan declared as Ryou behaved like some sort of caged animal. He glanced at over at Penelope, who Téa had helped to her feet, and was now watching Ryou in horror. "What did you do!"

"She knew!" Ryou howled, enraged, the first coherent thing he'd come out with for a few minutes. "She knew! Let me go!"

"And what are you going to do if we do?" Joey muttered, tightening his grip. "Man, for someone who's usually such a wimp, he sure can be strong…"

"Ryou!" Téa pleaded. "Come on… this isn't like you…"

"She knew Amane was alive." He said flatly, stopping thrashing now, but still shaking in rage. "She knew! She knew my sister, my _only family_, was alive! And she kept it from me! She didn't tell me! Let me _go_!"

Ignoring Ryou's request, they turned to look in horror at Penelope. No matter how much she disliked him, not to tell him that his sister was alive… That was low. Looking ashamed, she suddenly turned and ran from the room.

"Penelope! Wait!" Téa yelled, going after her. The second the door closed behind them, Ryou sagged. Cautiously, his friends released him, and he sank down into a chair, suddenly emotionally exhausted. The others didn't quite know what to say. If it had been Joey, Tristan, maybe even Yugi; they would have known what to do, what to say. But for Ryou to lose his temper, and to such an extent… it was unheard of, almost unnatural. Ryou rubbed at his face, and then buried it into his arms.

"Ryou…?"

"She knew." He muttered again. "She knew Amane was alive, and she hid it from me. I just… I'm sorry…"

"Hmmph." Joey snorted. "Don't worry about it. You had every right to get angry! That is _low_."

"Yeah, _if_ she knew Ryou didn't." Tristan snorted. Ryou lifted his head and stared at him, going pale as he realised what his rage had blinded him to, what he had failed to think of. "Not to be controversial, but what if she didn't realise he thought Amane was dead?"

"…Then I am the most appalling sort of person." Ryou responded eventually, so quietly his voice was barely audible. "Guys… What am I going to do? _What _am I going to do…?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Téa stood before Penelope, frowning. The girl looked guilty, looked frightened by the events, but Téa forced herself to remain unsympathetic, holding on to the growing anger on Ryou's behalf.

"Tell me honestly…" She said, slowly. "Did you know his sister was alive?"

Penelope nodded miserably. "But…"

"You never told him."

"I thought he knew!" Penelope shouted. "Téa, I swear to you, I didn't know. If I had, don't you think I would have told him! I might hate him, but I'd _never _wish that on anyone, okay! I _know _what it's like to lose a twin! I know what it's like!"

"You…"

"Once, I…" Penelope swallowed and began again. "Ryou, Amane, me, and my twin brother. We were close when we were kids. He and my brother, they were very into Monster World. Then, we started playing one day and… Never finished." She began to walk away. "Like I said, I know what it's like to lose a sibling. Only mine hasn't come back yet."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou was at the convince shop. More precisely, he was standing, waiting, in a long queue, wondering if he could actually afford the stuff. Since Amane had arrived, she had footed some of the bill, but, of course, he had to buy twice as much as he used to. He had been living off their university fund, and she had been living off the life insurance money from their mother. Both accounts were running low.

_I need a job… _Ryou groaned, mentally. _I wonder if there's any going here…?_

And then he felt something hard, round, and metal in the back of his neck. He froze, heart suddenly doubling in pace. He'd seen enough movies and dealt with enough criminals in his time to know exactly what was being pressed into him, ready to blow his brains away if he so much as moved.

_What _is _it with me and food shopping! _Ryou demanded. _It never goes to plan! All I wanted was some bread and milk, but no. Nothing's ever simple…_

"Don't make a sound." The person behind him, pressing the gun through his hair, so no-one could see, hissed in his ear. "Just keep queuing…"

Ryou glanced up. He was next to be served. He shuffled forward slightly at a prompt from the weapon. He considered being frightened, but somehow, after everything that had happened to him, he couldn't imagine being killed in a shop with a name like 'Smiley Fun Happy Turbo Express Superstore'. Somehow, death had lost it's edge- he hadn't just been knocking at death's door, he'd been invited in for a cup of tea and a biscuit. And so, he wasn't so much scared as frustrated. It was just one thing after another… The thing was, he wasn't that quick to react. There was no way he could do anything before the man pulled the trigger…

The person in front only had a few items left to be rung up. Ryou had to think quickly, but the cold, sneering presence of the gun was hard to ignore. They shuffled forward a little more. People were starting to send suspicious glances at why the man was getting so close to the white-haired boy.

_I _could _use my powers… _Ryou considered. _As long as I can find a way to do it so they don't think it's me…_

"Next customer, please!" The woman on the till called happily. She was pregnant. Slow moving. Evidently, this was why the robber had chosen this till. They moved forward, and he removed the gun from Ryou's hair, pointing it instead at the woman behind the till, firing a warning shot at her feet. Someone screamed, and then there was silence as the terrified customers prayed for their lives.

"I won't have to shoot again if you all gi… girrgh… uhrrgh…" He sank to his knees, the gun resounding as it impacted on the floor tiles, it's owner clawing desperately at his throat.

Ryou, meanwhile, watched in a kind of distressed interest. He hadn't been aware he could pull people's breaths back up their throat… He could suffocate people on a will. Well, that was new. He felt positively like Vader. He let it go, and the man drew deep, gasping breaths as he lay shaking on the floor. Ryou crouched down, pretending to be checking his pulse. Then, putting his false Aussie accent back on, he whispered in the man's ear.

"I don't appreciate being a hostage. I don't appreciate people who point guns at innocent people. And, most of all, I don't appreciate people who stop me shopping. Do it again, and I will pull every _atom _of oxygen in you straight out of your bloodstream."

He stood, put the money for his food (Which he'd managed to hold onto this time) down on the counter, and left before the man knew what had happened. It wasn't hard to slip away in the confusion. Everyone was concerned with the woman who had nearly been shot, and so no-one noticed the hostage disappearing out of the doors. None the less, Ryou walked home as quickly as he could. He was lucky, no-one caught up with him. More to the point, no-one would believe the criminal's story about his identity as Masquerade. For one thing, the would-be thief hadn't seen his face, or heard his real voice. Even if he described what 'Masquerade' looked like, and someone believed him, and suspected Ryou, they'd give up then. The boy was about as threatening as a cuckoo clock, which happened to be what Amane was watching on television when he went in, laden down with carrier bags.

"Round the Clock stories." Amane explained, turning the set off as Ryou dumped the bags on the kitchen counter and then walked through to flop next to her. "Oh, don't pull that act." She rolled her eyes. "You think a shop is bad? Try grocery shopping in an Egyptian Market…"

"I bet you never got a gun pushed into the back of your neck." Ryou shot back, grumpily. "And I didn't even get a job."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Even after Amane's arrival, once Ryou's outburst faded a little from memory, things fell more or less back into a routine. He still walked home with Serenity, and, although she didn't know it, he still went out when he was needed to, in essence, fight crime. This had been going on about two weeks, and, despite the danger of it all, he couldn't be happier. Just that weekend, they'd put shelves all around the walls of the room that housed the roof access, and moved all Ryou's stuff into there. It was a little crowded, but there was enough room for a wardrobe and bed, and really, that was all he needed. It was a nice compromise. This way, they both had rooms, but while Amane got the size, Ryou was able to keep his roof access- which was important, if he was going to keep an eye on the city. The nightmares had stopped, however, and so he missed some simply because he was asleep. But he was happy with the arrangement. Tonight, however, he felt a little… daunted. It had taken almost a fortnight to sort out all the paper work, but, at last, Amane would be starting at their school on Monday. Which, right now, meant only one thing to him…

"Just think." He said to Serenity, breaking the relative silence their walk home had subjected to. Something seemed to be getting her down… "The next time we do this, Amane will be with us!"

"Mmm." Serenity said, non-committaly. Ryou looked at her in concern.

"Pardon me, but… is something wrong?" he asked. Serenity jumped. She'd been thinking how she would miss it just being the two of them. She was pleased for Ryou, she was delighted to see him so happy, but somehow… She felt as though she could tell Ryou everything from her petty fears to her problems, and she didn't know if she could do that with someone else around.

"No." She answered.

"Don't say that." Ryou replied quietly. "Just say that you'd rather not tell me. It's alright, if you're not ready to talk. Just don't pretend everything's fine. I did that for the longest time, and the only advise I can give you about it is: Don't."

"Really, I'm good!" She laughed. "I was just thinking about something…"

"Okay." Ryou said, letting the matter drop for now. They reached the corner where they would part. "Serenity…" He bit his lip. "I wanted to say something to you…"

"What is it?"

"I… I…" Ryou began. Then the words swallowed themselves, and he had to find something else to fill the gap. "Thanks!"

"For what?"

Ryou smiled. "For… being there, I guess. You kept me hanging on. I had… nothing, really. My family was dead. My friends… They're fantastic, but once the Ring was gone… I ended up back where I'd started. I was losing my mind. You made me face up to my thoughts and…" He trailed off, embarrassed.

"You're welcome." Serenity answered, surprised. "…Could I ask you something?"

"Sure…"

"You're scared of water, right?" She asked, hurriedly, as though saying the words faster would embarrass him less. "So why get on a boat to go to Duellist Kingdom? Why come in the canal?"

"That's where my friends were." He answered easily. "They were the only ones who stayed friends with me _after _Monster World. They're the only ones who weren't too frightened to come near me. And if they did that for me, I figured I could sail across the ocean for them. If they weren't too scared to come near me, I thought I should face my fears to. Of course, I spent most of the ride vomiting over the side, but…"

"What about the canal?" She asked, quietly.

"…That's where my friends were." He repeated. "Good bye!" He added, hurrying away, embarrassed.

"Bye…" Serenity replied. "…What's got into him?" She wondered aloud.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"And, on the lighter side of the news, it looks like the Police force is going to get an extra helping hand…"_

"Ryou! You're on!" Amane yelled, as her brother emerged from the bathroom. He walked into the living room, towelling his wet hair. "Check it out!"

_"Japan's very own Superhero! Several eye-witnesses have reported him to be a young Australian male-"_

"Australian!"

"It's the only accent I can imitate." Ryou shrugged. "Mine's too distinguishing…"

_"-with amazing powers such as air-bending and, indeed, flight! Although all sightings have been in and around the Domino area in the last fortnight or so, no-one has any idea of the hero's secret identity, particularly as each time he appears he is dressed differently- right down to what he uses to cover his face. He's been seen in everything from jumpers to tea cosies-"_

"A tea cosy?" Amane echoed, indcredously.

"Shut up. It was all I could find at the time…"

_"And with such a variety, this masked man is impossible to track down! Those he has saved refuse to hear anything against him, although the police-"_

"See?" Amane said, gesturing at the television. "I told you that you need a proper outfit! You've been at this a fortnight now! It's about time!"

"Outfits just cause problems." Ryou sighed, sitting down next to her on the sofa. "Remember that time I didn't manage to prevent a building being crushed because I was waiting for the washing machine to finish with it? It was on _fast cycle!_ Or how about all the trouble of carting it round all the time? I kept having to lie! And as for getting _changed_… by the time I'd found somewhere private, changed, hidden my clothes, and got back, they'd gotten away! And let's not even _go into _the amount of times I was hopping around trying to get my socks off! Besides, it was really uncomfortable. It kept bagging at the elbows-"

"Okay, I get it!" Amane said, holding up her hands. "Now, be polite and listen to the Police man when he's talking to you…" She pointed at the screen, where the Police chief was putting out a televised plea.

_"And so, we'd ask this… 'Masquerade', whoever he is, to make himself known to us. We _urge _him to bring the criminals into our custody so that they may feel the full extent of the law, although we are grateful-"_

"Masquerade!" Ryou repeated, groaning, and turning off the television set. "Why can't they ever think of a _cool _name…?"

"Heh heh heh…" Amane laughed. "Masquerade! That's even worse then 'Faceless'!"

"Oh, be quiet…" Ryou said, tolerantly. "Come on, we need to go to bed. School in the morning…"

"Yeah, yeah." Amane sighed, downcast, and gave a mock salute before heading into what was now her room. Ryou looked after her and wondered just what Domino high was going to make of her.

_Please, let it be alright…_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Amane stopped right outside the school gates. She was usually so confident, but she was suddenly so nervous- Ryou's long-lost twin sister sounded like such a false story. She couldn't imagine the looks she was going to get. Besides, she'd never even liked school that much. She'd always found it pretty boring…

"I tell you what." She said to her brother, who was waiting to go in. "You go. I'll go get a job. You said we need money, right?"

"Amane…"

"Come on…" She pouted. "I'm scared!"

Ryou grabbed her elbow, where the omnipresent gloves on her arms ended, and began to forcefully steer her in. At first, she protested and struggled, but in the end the scuffle descended into giggles, and she began to walk of her own accord. Still, she couldn't resist a final attempt.

"Do I _really _have to…?" She begged, quietly, looking suspiciously back at the people who watched her with similar expressions, straining to hear what they were saying. She tried to pull the puppy eyes. It had always worked before, after all.

"Come on." Ryou whispered. "For me? Or… For mom? Dad? You know how much they cared about our education…"

She snorted. "That's emotional blackmail, you jerk. Besides, _I'm _not the one spending the University fund, am I?"

"Amane… Please?"

"Fine." Amane replied, pushing her bangs out of her eyes in irritation, in exactly the same way as her brother was known to do. Then she sighed. "The puppy dog eyes is supposed to be _my _speciality…!"

Ryou laughed. "It had to come back to bite you someday."

Inside, waiting at her desk, Penelope was equally nervous. Part of this was because she was about to be reunited with an old friend, but it was more to do with Ryou. He'd quietly told her that Amane would be starting today, and then they'd made their agreement. He'd formally apologised some days earlier for losing his temper with her, but the atmosphere was still tense and volatile. Yet, for Amane's sake, they'd promised to at least try to be civil. Penelope was nervous, because she was going to have to be friendly to the boy who had condemned her brother.

Then, they entered. Ryou, of course, looked the same as always; and, being his twin, Amane looked very similar. But, somehow, she looked different to how she used to be as well. Her hair was shorter, still long, but not as long as her brothers. The black dye had faded by now, so it was as startlingly bright as ever it was. Her tan from the heat of Egypt had quickly faded away, but she was still a little darker than her unhealthily pale counterpart. The Domino Uniform looked awkward, draped over skinny arms and legs, arms that wore white gloves up to the elbow. The room was full of mutterings and murmurs, but Amane was looking around in search of one person in particular. Penelope waited. Then Amane found her, and grinned.

"Nelly!" She yelled, waving enthusiastically.

"Hi." Penelope replied, simply- although inside she was wondering just why Amane _had_ to be so embarrassing, even after all this time.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Two boys hung lazily on a park bench, discussing the day's events.

"What do you think of Bakura's sister?"

"She's hot!"

"I guess… I wouldn't date her, though."

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Well… Let's face it. Bakura's not the most masculine looking person in the world, is he?"

"So…?"

"So, his sister only looks a little more… girly then _he _does. It would be like dating Bakura! Freaky."

The other guy considered. "You have a point." He admitted. Then, as an after thought, he added "Poor guy."

"Poor girl." The other guy corrected. "She's never going to get a date because her brother looks like a girl…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Masquerade was at work that afternoon, so it was probably a good job Ryou hadn't applied for that job after all. In a way, he was glad to get back to it. A few days had passed since Amane had started school, and yet, he was still fielding constant enquires, and it was rather exhausting. Amane seemed to have a surplus of energy to- she'd wear him out and still be going strong. At least she got on with Serenity. Almost more then Ryou did. But that didn't matter right now. Today, he was chasing a couple of joyriders. Now, Ryou could out-fly any bird, any bicycle, but a car was a challenge. He pushed every once of energy he had into flying; not even pulling his usual trick of creating pillows of air beneath his feet and running. Today, he had a wind at his feet, and he climbed higher and higher and higher; until he couldn't even see the car anymore, and then he went higher still. It wasn't really necessary, but today he was addicted to height. And then he went down, feet first.

His feet crashed heavily into the bonnet of the car, which, after the sheer velocity of his dive, crumpled like crepe paper. Masquerade smiled beneath his mask, which was today a ripped pillowcase, (It certainly was a nuisance, as now he'd have to replace it, and it was very awkward to keep his hair up in- he'd had to resort to tying it into a bun) and immediately took to the sky again. Sometimes, being a super hero was so cool.

Too tired to fly now, he air-walked to a nearby street, pulled off the mask, and faded back into animosity. When he reached the flat, Amane was doing some homework- or, at least, it was spread on the living room's small table. Yet, her eyes were firmly fixed on the television set in front of her.

"You're on again." She called as he entered.

"Why don't you _ever _say 'Hello'…?"

"Ssh!" She cried. "Kaiba's talking about you!"

"Kaiba?" Ryou blinked. "What does he want with me?"

"If you be quiet, we'll find out…"

_"And so," _Kaiba snarled on screen, sounding as though his statement was wrapping up. _"It is my intention to publicly unmask 'Masquerade' as the fraud he is, in the vain hope that this nation's media will drop this foolish idea of 'Superheroes!'" _With that, he left the small podium, ignoring the questions thrown at him.

The living room was silent bar a news update on the stocks. Kaiba Corp. shares were falling even as the reporter was speaking. Apparently, Kaiba's shareholders didn't like his new project. Yet, somehow, KC was still the best off…

"Ding ding ding!" Amane yelled, suddenly. "Congratulations, Ryou! You have overtaken Yugi _and _the Blue-Eyes as Seto Kaiba's obsession!"

"No, I haven't…" Ryou protested weakly, but he knew it was true. He buried his head in his hands. A moment ago he'd been soaring like an eagle, now he was sinking like a stone. "What does Kaiba have against me? I haven't done anything wrong…" Then he sighed. "You'd think by now he'd believe all the supernatural stuff that's been thrown under his nose…!"

"Still…" Amane said, cunningly, poking her slightly-older brother in the arm. "If he's going to 'unmask' you, you're going to need a real mask…"  
"Amane…"

"I'm going to make you one!" She decided, happily.

"I said I didn't need one." Ryou grumbled.

"Not a suit," She wheedled. "Just a mask…"

"No." Ryou said, flatly. "I don't like those things. I can't breathe. Or get my hair in."

"It's got to be better than tea cosies and pillow cases!" Amane pointed out.

"Amane, no!"

"You're having one." She decided, stubbornly. "And no more arguments, or I'll ask you embarrassing questions about how you feel about Serenity Wheeler."

Ryou choked, and he wasn't even drinking anything. Then, he sat in silent defeat, trying to hide his blush behind his hair.

It wasn't even like he could answer any questions. He wasn't entirely sure himself.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto had been wondering how long it would take them to show up at his house. He leant back in the arm chair, sighing.

"I _said _I'd unmask him." Seto snarled. "What more do you want from me? When are you going to leave me alone?"

The man chuckled. "My, you are forced into a corner, aren't you? The thing is, you'll see the last of us when we're done with you."

"And when's that?"  
He shrugged. "That all depends on how much trouble our dear Masquerade gives us."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_A secret is a very ambiguous thing. Sometimes, they're good, sometimes they're bad; sometimes they should be kept and sometimes they shouldn't. I have a lot of secrets, most of which I'd rather not know myself. But the biggest has to be Masquerade. Another me. I can't ever tell anyone, but it does make you wonder who would actually guess. And it makes you wonder how much you know about other people. If you hide so much, how much do others hide? Penelope still hasn't told us what's happened to Jay. Amane doesn't like talking about her time in Egypt much. Yugi and Tristan never mention their parents, the Wheelers like to pretend everything's fine with theirs. And as for Kaiba… Well, I have a lot of secrets, but, somehow, I think he has more than any of us. What could he possibly stand to gain? What part does he have in a superhero's story…?_

…_Of course, it's entirely possible that I'm paranoid. By all rights, after everything's that happened, I should be completely out of my mind by now. A bit of paranoia would probably be healthy right about now._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: And so, Chapter 5 draws to a close- and this fic is already much longer than the entirety of AfI. Wow… Anyhoo, I'm afraid I have some bad news- I'm going to have to put this fic TEMPORARILY on hold. _Someone's _birthday is coming up and I promised I'd write her a fic. _(Glare) _But the second 'Ripples' is done, I'll be back, I promise! I wish I could give a rough estimate of how long, but… It shouldn't be too much longer than usual. (I hope). Maybe… A month? _(Sweatdrop) _I'm really sorry! Believe it or not, this has been my top priority since my last update, and so nothing has been done on Ripples. I TRIED TO JUGGLE BUT I DROPPED THE BALLS! _(cries)_

Anyway, coming up in Chapter Six: Reunited!- Ryou and Jason! A 'Love Hina' situation! Masquerade'smotivation!Penelope finally gets more of abackstory!And someone ends up in hospital… It's all in **A Superhero Story Chapter Six- A Patient, coming ASAP!**


	7. A Patient

A/N: Well, if you're reading this, I'm wonderfully grateful, because it has been a HIDIOUSLY long wait. _(Sigh) _Needless to say, Ripples took a little longer then expected… Sorry, everyone! Apart from working morning, noon, night- and often into the next morning to- on Ripples, which totals a 104 pages in size 11 print, I have been doing all the usual stuff- A very fun fortnight family holiday in Cornwall, the friends that are very nice to me and like me to have a social life, getting all my stuff ready for next year, celebrating my brother's exam results… Yeah. As I said, the usual! But now, we return to your regularly (sorta) scheduled **Superhero Story! **Thank goodness. I've been itching to write it for weeks… _(Sweatdrop)_

Disclaimer: …You all know the drill… use your imaginations…

Six- A Patient

Japanese was a wonderful language. It had words in it like 'Time off', and 'Free gift' and many more, not quite so appealing, but almost as good. Two such words were 'Free Art', which was a term that (as Lemony Snicket would say) here means 'Draw what you like, just don't make a noise', or possibly 'The teacher is too hung over to think of anything', or possibly even, in it's most simplistic form, 'Doss Lesson'. The radio in the corner played out soft music, attempting to sooth the chatter that resulted from a free reign, but to no avail. It was bad enough with it being the last lesson on a Friday, without the idea of there being no rules.

The tables around the classroom were arranged so the students could sit in fours. On one such table, looking like the Knights of the Square-ish Table, sat Yugi, Joey, Ryou, and Amane. On the next table was Penelope, where she could still talk to Amane comfortably whilst avoiding her brother. With her was Téa, and some other girls they knew.

Ryou was doodling. He couldn't pretend the paper before him was a work of art. For some reason, he had doodled a Ferris wheel, with the mind to draw some sort of theme park. Then, his line for the ground beneath it went wrong, and it looked like a river. He began to add in a clock. Houses. A bus. A big, red, bus…

"Home sick?" Joey laughed, sitting next to him. Ryou blinked and finally took a proper look at what he had been drawing. It did indeed appear he had be inadvertedly drawing London.

"I…"

They heard a giggle on the next table from some of the girls, and turned to look.

"Wow, you're so good at art! It looks just like him!"

Penelope snorted, looking at the picture. "It is good, but I bet you've never seen him up close. No-one has. People are just guessing at what this new mask of his looks like."

"I don't know…" Amane said, not sounding as though she had any personal interest in the girl's work as she went over to look. "I think it looks like him. From the few bits the news camera have caught, and that." She glanced at her brother, and though her face remained emotionless, he could still sense the mental smirk.

"Well, maybe I can steal his heart away with my drawing!" The artist declared, and the girls laughed. "…Wouldn't it be great to know a real life superhero? I wish I could go and find him right now!"

"Well, Ryou's right here!" Joey called over to them. Ryou jumped, making a soft 'urk!' noise. "You know all about Superheroes, right, Ryou?"

"I…um… I…"

"Sure you do! You read the comics all the time!"

"Oh! Oh, yes. Yes, I do. Read the comics, I mean." Ryou sagged in relief. Amane rolled her eyes at his blatant cover-up, returning to her seat. "I'm not sure I could tell you anything about this Masquerade chap, though…" He continued.

The girl who had drawn the picture sighed in disappointment, but then brightened up. "What about you, Kaiba?" She yelled over to the table in the back corner, where Seto sat alone, choosing to interpret 'Free Art' as 'Type away at mysterious documents on Laptop'. Then again, he seemed to interpret most of their lessons like that. "If you're going to 'unmask' him, you've gotta know how to find him, right?" They laughed again. Seto snorted, but obviously decided they were at least worthy of a retort.

"I'm sick of fools who believe in the Supernatural." He said, steely, with a pointed look at Yugi. "So I'm going to show the world that Masquerade is a fraud and pray that such idiocy won't invade the media again."

The girls were about to question him further when the song on the radio cut off, changing to a news flash.

"Change it over!" Someone yelled.

"No!" Someone shouted back. "Don't you care about what's going on in the world?"

They continued to argue, which made it difficult for the Bakuras, who were actually trying to listen. The bank, not so far from the school, was being robbed. It was a hostile, hostage situation. The Police were in negotiating, but getting nowhere. What they really needed was a miracle. Or, failing that, a Superhero.

Amane and Ryou glanced at each other. He pulled his drinking bottle from his bag, and, under the table, Amane passed him a couple of salt sachets she'd taken from the canteen should such a situation occur. Trying to conceal what he was doing, Ryou held the bottle of water between his knees, fumbling with the packets under the table, resting his forehead on it, so he could see what he was doing.

"You alright there, Ryou?" Yugi inquired, only able to see his friend slouching over the table.

"I'm just feeling a little ill…" Ryou muttered, fumbling with the salt. He'd always been useless at opening these things.

"Oh? Should I get the teacher?" Yugi asked, alarmed. Amane leant forward, playing her part.

"You okay, bro?"

"I'll be okay…" Ryou said, finally tipping the salt in. Thankfully, it dissolved quickly. He lifted it out. "I'll just… y'know… have a drink. I'll be fine."

He raised the bottle to his lips. This wasn't going to be pleasant. He drank as much of the vile liquid as he could manage before it took it's toll and he vomited over a good portion of the table.

"…I think my picture almost looks better like that." Joey commented, wearily, looking down at his soiled page.

"Sorry…" Ryou muttered weakly, as the teacher came over. Within a few minutes, he had been sent home. Not that he went. As soon as he was out of sight of the school, he rummaged through his bag, pulled out the mask that Amane had made him, took off his blazer and hidden the whole lot behind a bin where his sister would pick it up for him later. Masquerade jumped up into the air and headed downtown.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

As Ryou went off to do his thing, Amane was once again left behind, joining the teacher and the other occupants of the table in the unpleasant task of clearing up after him.

_I wish you'd get a better aim, Ryou! _She thought, angrily. _And why do _I _always end up on cleaning duty! It's just… horrid!_

"Hey? You in there?"

"Huh?" She looked up, to see Joey grinning at her. "Oh, sorry."

"You were _way _out of it then…" He laughed, but then he became serious. "I was just thinking… Your brother's been doing this a lot recently. Is he alright?"

"Sure. Just a stomach bug or something…" Amane lied. She'd been here a few weeks now, used to covering up for Ryou's some-what realistic getaways when he had to get out of school.

"Well, let's just hope it's not catching." He commented. "Don't want both of ya getting sick…"

"Hmm…" She agreed, not entirely sure what to say to that. It wasn't that she wasn't fluent in Japanese, just as she was in English and modern Egyptian, but she was less confident in it. Still, that probably wasn't the reason she didn't know what to say- she couldn't think of anything in any language. "Yeah…"

"Although…" Joey said, looking at her sideways. "I have to say, if it was anyone else, I'd think it was a rather extreme way of playing hooky…"

Yugi and Joey laughed, and Amane took this as her cue to join in.

"Yeah, whatever…" She snorted. "Ryou has this real 'work ethic' thing going on… He's the one that makes me come in all the time…"

"I can imagine…" Joey chuckled. "That guy doesn't know the meaning of the word 'lazy'."

"He certainly doesn't! You know, he's up by six thirty on the _weekends?_"

Joey shook his head. "That's just mad! No wonder he acts so weird!"

"You know, Joey, you're the first one that's ever agreed with me…"

"Guys…" Yugi said uncertainly, trying not to laugh. "This is hardly the conversation to be having over a pool of vile smelling sick."

Joey and Amane looked down. Joey had not yet discarded his somewhat… splattered picture. He wrinkled his nose.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" He asked.

"Throw it away!" Amane commanded.

"…I'm not touching that!" Joey insisted.

"Oh, be a man!" Amane rolled her eyes. "Guys are supposed to love gore and gross stuff…"

"Well, why don't you take it?" Joey smirked. "He's _your _twin brother. His vomit is your vomit!"

"This is an amazingly disgusting conversation…" Téa commented from the next table. "Can you _please _stop discussing Ryou's vomit? You didn't have a problem with mopping it up off the table! So just move the picture, already!"

"No way." Joey and Amane chorused.

Téa looked imploringly at Yugi, who shook his head, then, sighing, she grabbed it herself and put it into the bin.

"There." She glared at them. "See? Now I've done your dirty work for you." She sighed, and went to wash her hands, Yugi right behind her.

Amane and Joey gave each other a small hi-five when their backs were turned. The plan had worked perfectly- they'd got out of touching the vile paper.

"Y'know…" Penelope said, having seen everything. "You'd probably want to wash your hands to before you do that…"

They stared at each other, and sprang up to do just that, racing for the taps.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Oblivious to the in-depth discussion of his salt-water induced illness, Masquerade was just reaching the bank. It was surrounded by Police, cars and armed officers, even a SWAT team on standby. Passers by were gathered, gawping, around outside railings erected for this purpose. A helicopter flew over head, although admittedly not much higher then he himself was running across the air. He bit his lip- which wasn't a very good idea when wearing a mask, but at least it was a lesson learnt- he didn't like 'performing' in front of large crowds. They expected far too much of him. The police were just as bad. Half the time, they seemed to like him, and attempted to get some sort of reflected glory. The other half, they were slagging him down for not bringing the criminals to them for arrest. Well, as far as Ryou was concerned, if the wanted to arrest these people, they could catch them themselves. He was only in this… job to ensure no-one got hurt.

Deciding he wasn't in the mood to deal with the Police today, he attempted to slip down onto the roof unnoticed. Of course, that was impossible. He had to hand it to the them, they had the building well covered- he didn't go unnoticed, in fact, he counted at least four snipers that had been _this _close to shooting, until they realised who, and what he was. He wasn't entirely sure they wouldn't shoot anyway. Just as the media seemed to think he some sort of saviour, the Police saw him as competition, almost a criminal- _Well_, he thought, wryly. _I am just about to break into a bank under their noses in a hostile situation. And I do withhold information on a regular basis… _

He shook the idle thoughts from his head. This wasn't the time. It was time to try and find a way in- and it wouldn't be easy, if the police had missed it.

Police Chief Ayako agreed. "What the _hell _is he doing up there!" She demanded. "We're in negotiations with the hostage-takers! He'll ruin everything!"

"What would you have me do?" Her second in command, a man named Hiyoshi, asked. "We can't let the men open fire…" His son had begged him to, if he ever met Masquerade, to get his autograph for him. He could hardly come home and say 'Sorry, son, daddy shot him'…

"I know that!" Ayako snapped, clenching her hands into fists. "We can't even communicate with him without alerting them to his presence…" She frowned, thinking. "Oh, screw him! Continue the negotiations and hope he knows what he's doing! And when he comes out, bring him to me! I have a few questions to ask our hero friend…"

Masquerade, of course, heard nothing of this. He was up on the roof, and, sure enough, had found an air vent into the building. It was small, too small for an adult; particularly a muscled police officer, but for a 'lanky' teenager like him, it didn't present a problem. Looking down it, the drop was far too long to jump down. Thankfully, he had this useful trick of being able to suck air up the vent to pull him up a little and slow his decent. He intended to use it. Heart pounding, he slipped into the shaft.

He'd dealt with many different crimes in his time, but he had never had a hostage situation beyond a small petrol station with only himself, the shop keeper, and one other person involved. He understood there were twenty people or more being held here, and there were more then one man, armed with something more dangerous then a dagger. He hoped he would be able to handle it, wondered briefly what it was that made him do this- moral values?- and then landed lightly at the bottom of the shaft, where it turned to run around the edges of the building.

Masquerade made a discovery. Air vents were a lot bigger then they made them out to be on films. He could have crouched down and walked along, but he decided to go on his stomach regardless, so he would be less conspicuous. Of course, in films, there was always tense music playing, and they missed out all the dirt and grime that accumulated, and neglected to mention how much it hurt your stomach to be scraped along it. Also, the heroes in films rarely lacked upper body strength. Now, Ryou, despite what he looked like, was fit and in good shape, but he wasn't used to this sort of exercise. They should teach how to crawl through an air-vent as part of PE, he decided, a little miserably. It was a life-skill… The vent before him that he was sliding silently along came to an abrupt stop. All that was before him was an abrupt drop. Looked like he was going down to the next level now. He dropped.

And, as he fell, he wished he had bothered to find out just how many floors there were in this place.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Finally, the art lesson finished, with no further excitement. Those who had been in that class walked out together, each scattering to their own direction. But, before Joey could leave, Amane called him.

"Um… Joey?"

"Yeah?" He turned around, and she walked over to him, smiling, but seemingly a little uncomfortable.

"I wanted to thank you." She told him. "I know Penelope didn't believe you when you told her about the Ring… and that she now hates you and Ryou even more, but… It's the thought that counts."

"Even when the thought is incredibly dumb?" Joey checked, suspicious.

"Even then." She nodded. "Thanks. Ryou's lucky to have you and the others as friends."

"Don't mention it." Joey answered, looking at her curiously. "But, y'know, you make it sound like we're not your friends to. Unless… Hasn't Téa pulled her friendship garb out on you yet!"

"Heh… Yeah. Many times." She smiled. "Lucky me!"

He laughed. "Oh… um… mind if I walk with you? I think it's a bit weird if you guys go all that way to meet 'Ren, and I don't…"

Amane shrugged. "Sure, if you like. Just don't forget, it's on our way home. It's well out of your way."

He shrugged, and they headed off, talking all the way. This was a pleasant change for Amane, who was used to Ryou being periodically silent or monosyllabic on the best of days. Joey, it seemed, could be a little… simple, maybe a little basic, but he was funny, and he had a good heart. She enjoyed his company, so she had no problem with him joining the walking part. It was better then doing the first leg of the journey alone…

"Well, what do we have here?" A voice called out. "Got yourself a new girl, Wheeler? What about Valentine? I thought you were gagging after her…"

Joey snarled at the boys. The three stooges here attended their school, and probably lived in this area if they had bothered to come and aggravate him. It was an old rivalry. They wanted to be duellists, but, knowing that Yugi would trounce them, had come after him instead. He kicked them round the room every time, but Kaiba must have rubbed off on them, because they just kept coming back; like an annoying fly around a picnic basket. Today, however, they seemed to be focusing on Amane.

"Are you sure it's the girl?" The second stooge asked, mockingly. "It could be that girly brother of hers."

_If only they knew… _Amane thought, annoyed.

"We can keep walking." Joey growled to her. She shook her head.

"No way. Punks like this need a good talking to…"

He nodded. Had he been alone, he wouldn't even have suggested walking.

"That's big words, girly." Stooge no.3 said, stepping forward. "This isn't England, you know. We're not all so polite that we wouldn't kick your butt…"

Amane rolled her eyes. How many times would she have to explain to Neanderthals like this that she had spent just as much time in Egypt as she had in the UK? Oh well. "Them's fighting words!" She answered, mocking his accent and tone. He looked surprised. Joey laughed.

"I think she wants to settle something…" The lead stooge said, stepping forward. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a deck, and activating the disk on his arm. "Let's have a wager. If you win this duel, I'll take it all back. If I win, well… We'll work that out later. But I'm sure it'll involve a little less… clothing…" He winked at her. Pervert. "This is how we settle things here in Japan, girly!"

"Really?" She asked, sweetly. She could never work out why duelling was such a big deal here. "This is how we settle things in Great Britain!"

He wasn't expecting her fist to make a sharp and painful impact with his nose, or for her to then grab hold of his disk-ed arm, using it to flip him over and throw him to the floor. Joey quickly dealt with the other two, and the three ran off.

Joey blinked, looking at her. She was muttering darkly in Egyptian. He probably didn't want her to translate. "That… was awesome!" He congratulated. She grinned cockily.

"Just don't tell Ryou. He'll tell me off…"

"No, he doesn't strike me as the violent sort…"

Amane declined to comment. Since he'd become a hero of sorts, he hadn't had much choice but to give up his previous pacifism, but Ryou was still firm in his opinion that it should only be a last resort. He would say she should have walked away, or, failing that, duelled the guy. He was right, to. It would have been a lot more moral, sensible, and a lot less degrading then her solution.

But man, it would not have felt _nearly _as good.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

As he finally slid, exhausted, from a grate, Ryou felt very glad he didn't have school tomorrow. His school trousers were going to need a wash. Possibly even dry cleaning. The bank, for some unknown reason, had never cleaned inside their air vents.

He had come out in the basement, and, as you might imagine, it had taken Masquerade sometime to climb down from what had turned out to be the seventh floor through only winding, snaking air vents that he didn't know his way through. He hadn't realised there would be a basement here- he'd assumed that if he'd gone down as far as he could, he would have been on the ground floor. But no, he was in a small corridor, with some steps at one end and a door at the other with a sign saying 'Basement- Staff Only'. It seemed it was a staff room, or an office; but, either way, it was no use to him. He looked wistfully at the stairs, but that could take him out in full view of the hostage takers. Sighing, he headed back into the vent. This whole mission was proving rather fruitless- perhaps that's why he was in such a bad mood today. Something about crawling through air vents disagreed with him.

He made his way back up to the level above, and, sure enough, he quickly found a vent to position himself over. He sighed mentally as he realised he hadn't been needed after all- the police were nearing the end of negotiations. The two robbers were leaving, with their stash, and two hostages to ensure they were allowed to walk out of the Police borderline.

As soon as the four men went out of the front, Masquerade dropped out of the vent and began untying the other, bound, gagged, prisoners.

"It's a trick!" The first, a woman, spluttered, the moment he had taken the gag out her mouth. "They're forcing those men to pretend to be the thieves why they pretend to be the hostages! You have to stop them!"

Ryou ran to the still-open doors of the bank. The two apparent robbers were holding bags of money in one hand, their 'hostages'- in the other. They got half way across the area covered by the Police when the sharp-shooters fired anaesthetic darts at them. The two hostages, forced to pretend to be thieves, holding bags of rags, dropped like stones. The police were immediately swarming all over them, and into the bank, and no-one noticed as the two hostages they'd brought out disappeared into the watching crowd. Cursing, Masquerade took to the sky and after them. They ran, and, spotting him, marched up to the door of a house, and simply forced their way in. What other choice did he have? Masquerade followed, hoping no-one was home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

After that incident, they didn't have much to say, so they just walked in silence. Joey couldn't help but think how different to her brother Amane was. Sure, they looked similar now that her hair dye had washed out and her tan faded, but her hair was still a little shorter and a little better behaved then his, and her eyes a clear, startling, sparkling blue that made him think her life was trying to pour out of them. Other then that, the obvious gender differences, and Ryou's extra centimetre or so in height, they looked very similar. In terms of personality, well… both were, at a basic level, 'nice' people. They both wanted to be everyone's friend, but their methods were different. Ryou was shy, polite, and would never criticise anyone if he could avoid it, because he didn't want to offend anyone. Amane wasn't worried about that- she said exactly what was in her head, and wanted people to like her for simply who she was- or they could just ignore her. She was sure of who she was, he thought, and was just out to have fun. She would do what she thought was right, and would not let anything, or anyone, stand in the way of that.

Kind of like-

"Joey!" She called, suddenly. He turned his head to look at her and manage to walk slap-bang into the very lamppost she'd been trying to warn him about. He fell backwards, landing painfully on the pavement. She helped him to his feet, laughing. "I _tried _to tell you…"

He reddened, embarrassed. She noticed, and waved it away.

"Don't worry. I do it _all _the time. Still, you were pretty spaced there. What were you thinking about?" She asked, curiously.

Joey blanched. He could hardly say he had been thinking about _her_! She might get the wrong idea!

…More worryingly, it seemed _he _was getting the wrong idea to. Why _was _he thinking about her, unless…?

"There you go again." She sighed. "Joey Wheeler, I've never known you to think so much! Anyway, come on- Serenity gets out in a few minutes, she'll wonder where we are…" They continued on their way, and, as they stopped outside the gates of Hinata High, she turned to him. "Oh! Yeah! I meant to ask… Do you want to come to the cinema with me tomorrow? I know it's short notice, but I _really _want to see it!"

"Um… um… s-sure…" Joey stammered, not sure what this meant- about why she was asking, or why he was saying yes. Amane nodded happily, and then turned to see Serenity approaching. She waved.

"Hey, 'Ren! Guess what! Joey's coming with us tomorrow!"

_'Us'…?_

"You are?" Serenity asked, reaching them. "Really? Great!" She smiled. "We were talking about it the other day… Amane and Ryou said they wanted to see the film to, so with you, we'll be a great little group! Oh…" She looked around. "Speaking of Ryou…?"

"He had to go home sick." Amane supplied. "But don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine tomorrow!"

"Well, we can't really go without him… it wouldn't be fair…" Serenity said, as they headed off. Joey sighed. Relief? Disappointment? He wasn't so sure… "Maybe we could come round to cheer him up?" Serenity suggested.

"No!" Amane said, a little too enthusiastically. Great. Now she had to back-peddle. "He'll probably be sleeping, and besides, we don't want you catching anything off him…"

"I guess not." Serenity agreed. "Well… I hope he feels better soon, anyway."

"He will." Amane assured her, and the two girls and Joey continued on their jolly way. This was the first of many walks home Joey would take with them, and his addition to the party only made it more fun then ever.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Penelope had made it home, which was an achievement in itself; what with the crowds all over the streets around the bank not far from her home. She didn't want to stop and gawp like those idiots, however, and had hurried on home- even if she _had _wanted to watch, she wouldn't have done. Her father, a pilot, was away on some long distance flight, and her mom was, as always, home with Jay. That night, her mom was having a well-deserved night out, but couldn't leave until Penelope got home. She was ready and waiting when her daughter came in, did all the usual motherly questions and warnings, hugged her goodbye, and left. Having been to talk to Jason already, who was as silent as ever, she was now taking a much needed shower.

After a few minutes, she became aware of sounds other then the rushing, hot water and the gurgling pipes. A thump. She turned off the water, stepping out and wrapping a towel around herself, tilting her head to listen. Yes. There were defiantly strange sounds coming from downstairs. A thud. Something breaking. Yelling. And heavy footfall, heading up the stairs. She frowned. _What on Earth_…?

And that was when Masquerade came flying through her bathroom door, which she hadn't bothered locking due to her being practically home alone. A man grabbed the key from the lock, slammed the door, and there was the click of a lock from outside.

And still, Penelope and Masquerade, whose brown eyes showed through the grey mask, looked at each other. She couldn't see his facial expression, but he seemed just surprised as she was. Then, he seemed to get a hold of himself, and hastily averted his face from her towel-clad form.

"_I'm sorry_!" He yelled, in a strange accent that didn't sound very Australian to her. In fact, it almost seemed like a normal Japanese voice, except with a hint of… Well, it almost sounded English.

Why was that voice so familiar to her…?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Masquerade crashed through the house's now-open front door after the men. Judging by the fact there was no screaming or panicking, no-one was home. It was a small mercy. At least one of these men had a gun.

"Come no closer, you!" The one with the gun tried.

"Okay." Masquerade agreed, but simply pulled the 'knife trick' he had used when he had first revived his talents, concentrating a small burst of air behind it just enough to knock it out of his hands. Masquerade sent it floating up to the ceiling, just for safe keeping.

The two men went pale, and dived through the nearest door. Masquerade followed, quickly discovering it was, in fact, the living room. The men backed off to one side.

"Hey, man, we haven't done anything to you!" One tried. "Just let us get on with it eh?"

"Sorry." Masquerade said, making sure he was pulling his phoney accent. "Why don't we just get out of this nice person's house and we'll discuss this outside?"

"Discuss this!" One man yelled, tossing a vase off the mantle. Masquerade tried to stop it from smashing, but his attention was divided when they shoved past him and into the hall. The gun, which had now clattered to the floor, was scooped up, back into their possession, as they pounded up the stairs. Looking despairingly at the broken vase, Masquerade followed; but the men were fast. As soon as he reached the top, the two were upon him, and, before his tired reactions could do a thing about it, he found himself shoved into a room.

He didn't pay attention as one of the men grabbed the key and locked him in the room. Before him stood Penelope Hightman, dripping wet from the shower; and wearing only a towel.

This was one of those situations that were too bad to even have nightmares about. Ryou's brain was currently freezing over in horror as they looked at each other in disbelief.

_This can't be happening…_

"_I'm sorry!" _He yelled, suddenly becoming aware of himself and the fact that, yes, it really was happening, and averted his eyes. Flustered, he had completely forgotten to cover up his voice. He made a big show of clearing his throat, hoping she'd think that was the cause of his mysteriously sharing a voice with Ryou for a second there. "I'm so sorry!" he said, in his disguised voice now, which he kept up for the ensuing conversation.

Penelope went and sat on the edge of the bath, awkwardly. She didn't like only wearing a towel, but she could hardly get dressed now. Even if he turned around, there was a mirror on the opposite wall.

"It's not your fault." She assured him. "So I guess it's okay, as long as you're not a pervert. You're not, are you?"

"No!" Masquerade denied so fiercely she had to laugh.

"Ah. Good. Then… Perhaps you'd care to explain what the _heck _you're doing here!"

Masquerade swallowed. So. She was angrier then she had been letting on…

"Um… Well… that is… The men, robbing the bank… They got away from the police and decided to hide here."

"_Here_!" She echoed in alarm. "But… Do they have guns!"

"Yes." Masquerade nodded grimly. Instantly, she came and pulled him so he was facing her.

"Well, you have to get us out of here! My brother is in that room in the corridor! We can't let them hurt him!"

Ryou, behind the mask, gasped in spite of himself. So, Jason _was _here. In some ways, that was a relief. He wasn't dead! His heart lifted slightly, but quickly sank again. If he was alive, why wasn't he in school? Or what if it wasn't him she was referring to? Her parents _could _have had another son by now…

"What are you going to do!" Penelope demanded, still holding self-consciously onto the towel unnecessarily tight. No way was she letting it go even slightly.

Masquerade rattled the door handle. "It's locked." He said.

"I know that! Get us out!"

"…I can't."

"What!"

"I control _air_! I'm not a lock pick!"

Penelope snorted, but sank resignedly back down onto the side of the bath. "Not much of a Superhero, are you?"

He sat down on the floor. "I never claimed to be." He said, defensively. "I just do what I can…" he didn't want to be here, and closed his eyes as he leant against the walls. It had been a bad afternoon, and really, he just wanted to figure out a way out of this room. He had already sussed that the window was far too small to get out of…

"Do you?" Penelope asked, curious instead of scathing now. "But you never take the baddies to the police…"

"No." Masquerade shook his head. "I… used to, but… Well, there was a bit of a misunderstanding, and things went wrong… It's the for the police and the courts to bring justice to people, not me. I just try to help who I can."

"I have it!" Penelope said, suddenly. "I know who you remind me of!"

Ryou's heart pounded in his chest, wondering what Penelope would do if she realised it was him. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty…

"There was this guy back in England…" Penelope was saying suspiciously. "He was a lot like you."

_Stay impassive… _Ryou muttered to himself, again and again. _Stay impassive… Don't show a reaction… 'Who's Ryou?' that's it… Impassive…_

"They used to call him Faceless. He did the same kind of thing you do."

"Oh?" Masquerade asked, relieved. Then, hastily changing the subject, he said: "Listen… I think I can get us out… But you might not like it…"

"You're going to blow the door off, aren't you?" Penelope said, wearily. Masquerade nodded sheepishly, unable to believe she'd cottoned on so fast. "Go right ahead. We have good Home Insurance."

Masquerade nodded, and then pulled up all the air from the downstairs, sure no-one would suffocate, dragging it all up into a concentrated gust, which reverberated into the door, blasting it off it's hinges, and across the room, and through the shower cubicle, and embedded itself in the wall behind.

"…I think you overdid it." Penelope said, irritated.

"Sorry." Masquerade answered, sheepishly. She was right. He was just so jittery, worried that he was going to be recognised. Then, the two rushed out of the room, jumping into action. The two men were in the second bedroom, looking out of the window to see if there was a way down. But, as he entered the room, that wasn't what Ryou was looking at.

Jason was in the room, but he didn't look as Ryou remembered him. He was sitting in a chair, staring blankly ahead. Ryou knew that look. He was soulless, half dead. A breathing corpse, nothing more.

"You again!" One of the men exclaimed, wheeling round and pointing a gun at Masquerade. Penelope stood right behind him.

"I don't care!" She yelled at them desperately. "Take anything, take whatever you want, do whatever you like; just don't hurt my brother!"

"That's right." Masquerade nodded. "Just… don't hurt J- the boy…"

This was a mistake. Now the man knew exactly where the advantage lay.

"Here's how this is going to go…" He smirked, walking over and pressing the butt of his gun into Jason's forehead. The boy did not react. "I'm going to stand here and wait while my associate climbs out of that there window. Then, I'm going to climb out of that window, keeping my gun pointed at this veggie here. You two are going to stand there and not move so much as an eyelid until we've gone."

Masquerade frowned. He hadn't been through this much for nothing, surely! Where were those officers when you needed them!

The first man was half way out of the window when the one with a gun took a step away from Jason. Just a small step. Then, he began to smile.

"Maybe I'll just shoot him anyway, as an example…" He considered.

That was all Masquerade needed to hear. He leapt forward, but the man's reactions were as fast as ever. He re-aimed the gun, and pulled the trigger.

Ryou felt the bullet clip painfully past his shoulder, tearing out skin as it went, and heard the twin thuds as it blew into the wall behind him and as he fell to the floor. He heard Penelope yell, and the police at last come into the room and detain the two men, but he couldn't stay conscious much longer. He didn't try. Vaguely noticing this was his first proper failed mission, he let the darkness overtake him, forgetting all about the consequences this natural reaction could have.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Just give him the painkillers!" One doctor declared, angrily.

"I can't! It was risky enough giving him the local anaesthetic when we were putting the stitches in!" A second doctor replied with equal rage. On a bed behind them, Masquerade was still unconscious, still covered in dust and dirt from the vents, with one of his shoulders bearing an ugly, raw scar- not that you could see it beneath the crisp white bandages. His mask was still on, but rolled up, above his nose and mouth, so they could strap a breathing aid to his face. He was lucky the bullet had only clipped him, although it had been rather messy to patch up. "Look, without his medical history, I can't do a thing! What if he turns out to be allergic! We've got to take that mask off and find out who he is!"

"You can't do that!" The first doctor protested. "He has a secret identity to keep! You can't just unmask him!"

"We don't have a choice! Besides, he's just a kid!"

"Does that take away from what he's already achieved in this city, then!"

"No, but it's means it's too risky, not to mention illegal, to…" He trailed off, looking at the bed. The ventilator lay abandoned, the window behind the bed open, the curtains flapping in true cliché style in the late September winds. "…He's hopped it!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou was not in a good mood as he landed on his room, pulling the stifling mask off at last. He was dusty and dirty from his crawl through the vents, his shirt sleeve was bloody from the near-shooting, and his shoulder hurt unbelievably, as they'd been arguing too much to give him any painkillers following the stitches being put in. He swung open the door from the roof access and pounded downstairs into his room.

"Amane!" He yelled as he went. He decided he would speak in Egyptian. Usually, in public, they'd speak in Japanese, as it was only polite, and at home in English. But today, he was angry, and he wanted to show it. He walked across to open the door to his room, and go out into the hall. "_I have just spent my afternoon crawling around in air vents and locked in Penelope Hightman's…_" He trailed off. Amane was looking at him in horror from where she stood by the open front door; where she had been trying to convince his well-wishing friends that it was a really, really bad idea for them to visit right now. He stared at them, becoming all too aware of his worn appearance as they gawped back at him, and remembering how bad he was at lying.

"Hi… guys...!" He said, slowly.

This could be _bad_…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_I seem to spend half my life going in and out of hospitals, so, yes, perhaps I am the best qualified person to comment on them. If I spent another moment in one, I'm certain they'd have me chipping in for staff birthdays! I thought I'd seen the back of those days when I was finally free of the Ring, but it seems not. I wish it was. It's the smell of hospitals I don't like. All that disinfectant. I know they need it, but surely, with all the geniuses (genii?) that there are in the world- Kaiba springs to mind- _someone _could invent a more pleasant smelling disinfectant._

_But I'm evading the issue. There is really only one thing I ever hated about going to hospital. All the other people had friends and relatives around them, staying with them. My family was dead, my friends off saving the world. There is nothing so lonely as that._

_Yet, that isn't true anymore, is it? I may not have found my father, but I have my sister back. And now the Items have gone, it doesn't seem likely that Yugi will have to save the world again. He's done it so many times now… Out of all my friends, I often feel that I am the least likely to play at being a Superhero._

_…Perhaps that's why I _am _a superhero. The whole point of a 'secret identity' is that no-one knows, no-one can guess. Sometimes, I hate that. I hate keeping secrets from people. But… necessity overrides want, particularly selfish wants about my wanting to share what I can do with my friends._

_But I'll manage. I have Amane. And then, although they don't know about Masquerade, I have my friends. They have done such a lot for me. I can't ask anymore of them. I cannot tell them about this._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Yay, all done! I know it's a little shorter then usual, but I'm afraid I just couldn't think of anything else to happen in the bank- which is why we ended up with the rubbishy cliché climbing through the vents. _(Glare) _Also, I think Ryou was a little… off in this chapter. He seemed to be in a really bad mood… _(Sigh) _I must be out of practise at writing him… Sorry!

Still… Rhetorical question time! How will they get out of this one? What's Ryou going to say when he discovers they're going to the cinema with the Wheelers? Speaking of whom, is this the signal of something new between Amane and Joey…! Just what does Seto have against Masquerade? And… Will Penelope believe what she is told? Could Ryou and the Masked Man that saved her brother _really _be one and the same…? Yup, things really start to kick off in **A Superhero Story Chapter Seven- A Sister**...

I'll update soon- I'm on my summer holidays until 4th September, so I'm sure I can get VII done by then! Apologies once again for the delay, and thanks for sticking with me! Oh…**Happy birthday for tomorrow, Scooby2408! See you in a few hours:D** Yup, I'm going to be spending the night there tonight, all ready for the day tomorrow! So, you can see it's a good job I got Ripples done… um… on Monday. Yeah, it WAS Monday I finished it! I'm glad I did… I'm probably not as nice to her as I should be… heck, I know I'm not… _(Sweatdrop) _Public apology? I'm sorry!

…Why am I wittering about this on an A/N? Surely an E-mail, or a LJ post, would be more sensible? Meh… Shutting up… Thanks for reading, all:D


	8. A Sister

A/N: Hello, everyone! Well, the summer is almost over… this time next week, I will have done my first day back. _(Sigh)_ That means there will be less time for writing… and, an advance warning, there will be even _less _time next year, as it is my FINAL one. _(Gasp) _I remember when I was eleven, starting senior school, knowing only **Scooby… **_(Reminisces) _Anyhoo, there will also be less time for reading! I've read, and re-read some good books this summer. _The Time Machine, Last of the Sky Pirates, A Chinese Cinderella, The Book of Dead Days, Dark Flight Down, Artemis Fowl- the Lost Colony… _I could go on. But, while we're on the subject of AF, who thinks Seto and Artemis should _so _be introduced? _(Imagines) _I think they'd get on… or wouldn't… fantastically! _(Laughs) _Buuuuuuut… back to the point. Another privilege I've enjoyed this holiday is the use of the caravan, and that's why this wasn't updated last Saturday. I got home earlier today and just had a few finishing touches to put on this chapter- namely, the final scenes with Penelope and Seto, and the monologue. That's not to say I wasn't busy at the caravan- I did a little writing; a few paragraphs of this, the beginning paragraphs of a chapter of another fic, and the plan of the first five chapters of **A Superhero Story II. **Yes, a sequel. There's a few plot creases to iron out yet, though; but hopefully I'll be done with the plan by the time I get done with this. And I won't _ever _be done if I keep waffling on like this! Moving on…

Disclaimer: I don't own all the usual stuff, and also one of Amane's lines. You'll see… but the last line she says to the editor, I stole off a plaque. It's pretty well known, so you should recognise it, but… meh.

Seven- A Sister

Ryou was not in a good mood as he landed on his room, pulling the stifling mask off at last. He was dusty and dirty from his crawl through the vents, his shirt sleeve was bloody from the near-shooting, and his shoulder hurt unbelievably, as they'd been arguing too much to give him any painkillers following the stitches being put in. He swung open the door from the roof access and pounded downstairs into his room.

"Amane!" He yelled as he went. He decided he would speak in Egyptian. Usually, in public, they'd speak in Japanese, as it was only polite, and at home in English. But today, he was angry, and he wanted to show it. He walked across to open the door to his room, and go out into the hall. "_I have just spent my afternoon crawling around in air vents and locked in Penelope Hightman's…_" He trailed off. Amane was looking at him in horror from where she stood by the open front door; where she had been trying to convince his well-wishing friends that it was a really, really bad idea for them to visit right now. He stared at them, becoming all too aware of his worn appearance as they gawped back at him, and remembering how bad he was at lying.

"Hi… guys...!" He said, slowly.

This could be… bad.

Luckily, Amane was faster then he was. As the others gave bewildered greetings, she frowned at him and said "Ryou! I thought I told you to get changed!" She rolled her eyes at the others. "He's utterly useless when he's ill! He fell over on his way home, cut his arm, and he just left it until I came home. He gets totally out of it…"

Ryou had no choice but to play along. "Sorry…" He mumbled, trying to sound suitably ill, 'out of it', and scolded. "I meant to change… I must have fallen asleep…"

"Oh, did we wake you?" Téa asked, alarmed; which distracted them all nicely from the fact he was far too dirty to have merely tripped.

"No." Ryou replied, shaking his head, making it sound like he was lying. The others obviously didn't believe him. "I was awake already, Téa, honestly." He gave a weak smile. "Why don't you all come in?"

Dubiously, they did, and soon they were all squashed into the compact living room. Yugi glanced around him, absorbed for the moment in memories. You'd hardly believe this was the same room they'd played Monster World in…

"Everything alright Yugi?" Ryou inquired.

"Fine." Yugi answered hastily, pulling himself back into the group. Conversation flowed, lively and bright; but Ryou was not involved. He didn't ever say much, but he usually listened in. This time, he sat at one end of the sofa, with his eyes closed.

"Maybe we ought to go…" Serenity said slowly, nodding at him. Ryou opened his eyes.

"Oh, I am sorry…" He said, sleepily. "Please don't go on my account…"

Amane rolled her eyes. "Ryou, just go back to bed…"

He nodded, staggering up. "I think perhaps I will. Please excuse me, everyone. I'll see you soon…" He wandered off to his small bedroom, made all the smaller because of the staircase that ran down into it. Once he was in there, with the door shut, he had a closer look at his appearance and decided he really better had get changed. Then, he sat down on his bed, pulling a book from the shelf and opening it to the page he had last read. He sighed ruefully, hating having to act so pathetic in front of his friends, hating to lie to them. But it was necessary, it couldn't be helped.

A short while later, he heard Amane wishing everyone goodbye, and the front door clicking open and shut. He smiled, hearing how quiet they were trying to be for his benefit. What nice people they were…Somehow, that made his guilt at lying to them magnify. Sighing, he read to the end of the chapter, and then went to go and find Amane, who, from the sounds of things, was in the kitchen.

When everyone had got up to leave, they had left behind empty glasses that they had been drinking from, and as Amane had begun to gather them up to wash, Téa had insisted upon helping. Unbeknownst to Ryou, she was still in the flat.

"I wanted to ask…" She said, as Amane began to run water into the sink. "What was it Ryou said when he first came in? I'm sure he mentioned Penelope's name…"

"Um… Well, he said…" Amane thought furiously, but couldn't think of a decent lie. Time for 'Evasion Plan Beta- Distraction'. "Oh!" She cried, dropping a plate. "Crud. I always do that when my gloves get wet…"

Téa had been wondering about that. Amane always wore long, elbow length gloves, without any fingers. She even wore them at school, not taking them off even for gym. She often wondered if her arms didn't get sweaty in them. It was a bit of a strange fashion statement anyway…

"Take them off." Téa suggested. "You'd do a lot better."

Amane took a step back from her. "I'd rather keep them on…"

"Come on, I'm sure your arms are lovely…" Téa joked. "You wear those like a baby keeps hold of a security blanket. You just need some confidence!"

"No, honestly, I'll keep them…" Amane yelped, leaping back as Téa lunged at her.

"Amane, honestly, I'm trying to help…" Téa said, sympathetic but firm. It was unnatural to be so attached to a piece of clothing. It wasn't healthy. She grabbed firmly hold of her right arm, and pulled the glove off.

"So…" Amane whispered. "Is your curiosity satisfied now?"

Téa had instinctively let go of her arm like it was a snake. The skin from just below Amane's elbow all the way down to her palm was a pallet of different colours, from unnaturally white parts to crimson, yellow, pink… The texture was crisp, looking scarred and burnt. After the shock had faded, though, she felt ashamed of her horrified reaction. "I'm sorry…" She said, quietly, and honestly. "I've… invaded your privacy, haven't I?"

"It's fine." Amane said, sighing wryly. "It was bound to happen sometime. The other arm's exactly the same."

"I…"

"Could I have my glove back, please?"

Téa handed it over, and Amane put it gratefully back on. They stood in silence for a moment, as Amane began to wash up the cups and Téa dried them.

"There was a fire at our house." Amane explained. "My arms and back got a little… fried. The stairs collapsed on my mom… I went to look, and ended up trapped myself." She smiled sheepishly. "My mom had told me to get out from upstairs, but, as always, I didn't listen…"

"I see…" Téa answered, softly. Ryou never talked about what had become of his family. They hadn't even known about Amane beyond one or two passing mentions of a sister until she turned up. He didn't seem to be one for talking about his problems…

And, speaking of Ryou, he came into the kitchen now. His school shirt had long sleeves on it, but the T-shirt he wore not did not. He had a lot of bandages around his arm. Too many for just a little cut

"Ryou!" She said, alarmed. "What happened!" Then, the questions began to flow steadily, each one opening up another dubious avenue that didn't quite run to where the map claimed. "Why was there so much blood from a small cut, anyway? Why were you so dirty just from tripping over?" She bit her lip, thinking. "Ryou…You didn't fall over, did you? And… and you're not sick either. I've seen you sick, this isn't what you look like… Ryou, what are you keeping from us?"

Ryou and Amane stared at each other. Amane dropped it first.

"Ryou, I don't think we can lie our way out of this…"

He nodded, sadly. "Alright… Téa, I can't tell you. I have to… I am so, so, sorry…" He whispered, using his powers.

Téa didn't answer. She was suddenly very short of breath. She panted, but couldn't quite get enough air in… Slowly, she tipped over and blacked out. Amane went to her immediately, sitting her up so her head wasn't on the floor.

"How long will she be out?" Amane asked. Ryou was still looking silently at the floor, obviously in serious doubt that he should have done that. "Ryou! It's alright. You had to. But how long will she be out?"

"A few minutes." Ryou said, bitterly.

"Okay. You'd better go do the sick act again…"

He nodded, heading back towards his room, and not a moment too soon, as Téa groaned then, and sat up on her own.

"Oh, great!" Amane said, happily. "I was just about to phone an ambulance." She helped Téa to her feet. "You alright?"

"…What happened…?" Téa asked, disorientated.

"You took off my glove…" Amane informed her. "I guess the sight didn't agree with you, 'cause the next thing I knew you were out-cold on my kitchen floor!"  
"I… fainted…?"

"When you saw my oh-so-attractive burns, yes."

"Oh!" Téa said, ashamed. "Amane, I am so _sorry_!"

"It's alright. Natural reaction and all that. I've only just got used to it myself…"

"But…" Téa began, slowly. "I could have sworn Ryou was in here. We were talking…"

"What?" Amane asked, hoping she looked suitably confused. "Téa, Ryou's still in bed."

"I'm sure he was here…"

Amane sighed, trying to look pitying. "Honestly, he's still in bed. He hasn't moved… Come on, look." She took the girl by the arm, steering her towards Ryou's room. She quietly, slowly, pushed the door back to reveal the boy lying in bed, eyes closed in sleep. She shut the door again. "You see?"

"Yeah." Téa sighed ruefully, rubbing the back of her head. "Guess I'm just going a little crazy…"  
"Well, do you want to go to the doctors or something?" Amane checked. "You could be concussed!"

"No, no, I'm fine!" Téa assured her.

"Still… Maybe you ought to go home and rest up." Amane tried, and felt grateful when Téa did indeed agree that it was time to go. She shut the door behind her, and a moment later, Ryou emerged from his room again. The twins regarded each other.

"That was close." Ryou said, speaking English now, slumping against his door.

"Way too close." Amane agreed, in a very similar position against the front door. "You have _got _to be more careful. Téa has now got to convince herself she dreamt that conversation with you, or accept she's losing her mind. Go us- makes you feel good, doesn't it?"

"I feel so bad about it…" Ryou muttered.

"I know." Amane agreed sombrely, and then brightened a little. "Still- at least tomorrow should be fun! Just what you need!"

Ryou looked at her quizzically. "What are we doing tomorrow?" he asked.

"We're going to the cinema with Joey and Serenity!" Amane informed him happily. "Just make sure you wear a long sleeved shirt… What happened to you, anyway?"

"Why?" Ryou asked, still caught up in the first half of her dialogue.

"Well, you said you wanted to see 'Reflections of Chaos', so I thought-"

"No," Ryou interrupted. "Why Serenity and Joey? Don't the whole group usually come to this sort of thing?"

"I guess…" Amane shrugged, frowning. "But it hardly seems their kind of thing. I just knew Serenity wanted to see it to, and it seemed weird to invite her and not her brother. It's not like Joey's an enemy of ours, is it? He's our friend, after all; he's funny and friendly and…" She trailed off, noticing Ryou was looking at her strangely. "What?"

"Usually, it follows through to the rest of the group. If you invite Joey, you feel obliged to invite Yugi and Tristan, and then Téa…" He bit his lip, knowing this next part was a little delicate. "Amane… Just…Tell me you're not falling for Joey…"

"'Falling for Joey'? No!" Amane laughed, not really thinking about it. But something about his expression, his tone, his words… they got to her. It sounded almost accusatory. She moved closer to him. "But what if I _was_? What's wrong with that!"  
"Don't get me wrong." Ryou answered, hastily. "Joey's a good friend of mine. I just… thought you liked Jason."

"Jason!" Amane echoed. "Ryou, we were kids then! I liked him when we were _ten _for the three years until _you _took him away from us! Don't bring him into this- you just don't like it because you're after Serenity but have too high morals to act upon it when she's two years younger then us!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Ryou shouted back, concentrating on Jason still. "Don't blame this on me, Amane! You were in the game to! You were just as capable of stopping it as I was! I didn't know anymore then you what was going to happen! It wasn't my fault! Or don't you believe me!"

"I believe you, but I don't care!" Amane snapped. As she got more agitated, she began to fall into Egyptian, so the end result was a sentence with mashed up languages that would have made Dr Johnson wince. "You shouldn't bring him up! You still went and played with all those other kids after! _Maybe I _did_ like Jay! And maybe… maybe when we were older,_ there could have been something more!_ But I haven't seen him for years! I _won't ever_ see him! I can't keep holding onto him _like you seem to expect!_ I just can't!"_

"I saw Jason this afternoon! He's worse then _dead_! I can't believe you would just forget him!" Ryou answered, turning away. Amane grabbed his shoulder, flinging him angrily round as she glared into his eyes.

"I haven't forgotten, but unlike you, I'm trying to get over the past!"

"You're burying your head in the sand, Amane! It won't change a thing!"

"_I'm _burying my head in the sand! You're the one who just lied to one of your best friends to cover your 'superhero' backside! Why not tell them, Ryou! To _protect _them! Don't be so arrogant! _I _know, and nothing's happened to me, because this isn't a comic book where you're dealing with super villains. Face facts! You chase _petty thieves_! They'd be in no danger if you told them!"

"You don't know that! How could you know! You're not out there! You're here, doing _nothing_!" Ryou yelled at her. He had never spoken that harshly to her before. In fact, he rarely said that many words in one go. And he couldn't say he didn't deserve it when she gave him a slap.

She slammed into her room, and slammed the door in his face as he tried to follow. Ryou headed numbly into the living room, turning on one of his Blues CDs hoping it would pull its usual trick of healing his soul. It didn't. He buried his head in his arms. Perhaps he had been better off when he hadn't been a hero. First Penelope, and now Amane… he never used to lose his temper like that. He never used to _have _a temper. But… it was just seeing Jason like that, and knowing it was, indirectly, his fault… And then his shoulder, and the guys getting away… He shouldn't take it out on Amane, he knew, but it was so hard…

This wasn't turning out as a very good afternoon.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Amane lay on her bed, trying to stop herself from crying. She hadn't cried for a long time, certainly not in these past few weeks since she had found her brother. She couldn't remember the last time they'd argued like that. She wasn't certain they ever had. She was just so… confused.

She missed Jason. She really did. She had been so happy to see Penny, her oldest, best friend again; but every time she saw her, she still expected to see Jason at her side, like in the old days. But he was never there. She hadn't found out what had become of him yet, but she feared the worst. _Worse then dead_, Ryou had yelled somewhere in the midst of it all. The tears continued to fall as she cried for her old friend. She had once had a crush on him, certainly, but like most ten year old girls, it was almost for the sake of it. He hadn't been any different to any of her other, old, dear friends; except that, sometimes, when she had a problem she couldn't talk to Ryou about, that Penelope wouldn't understand, she went to him. He usually didn't understand either, and probably didn't really want to listen, but he always did. Somehow, that had always cheered her up. He had been like another brother to her, just like Penelope was a sister to her. Back then, the four of them had been a family, almost. Their father was always away on digs, the Hightman's always flying to some far off, exotic place. They had clung to each other, been so close.

But that was a long time ago.

She had come a long way since then, across the world in fact. She missed Jason, but he wasn't here now. There was no point in thinking about him, about what she may or may not have felt back then, about what she may or may not have felt had been here now. Because he wasn't here.

But that left a void. And now, from what Ryou was suggesting… She didn't know. Did she _like_ Joey? It seemed a laughable idea, but then she hadn't really thought about it. He was a friend of hers, but she hadn't thought about it. She had no _desire _to think about it. It was too confusing. But now she couldn't help it…

"Stupid Ryou…" She muttered, groaning into the pillows, and at that very moment, he came knocking on her bedroom door.

"Amane…?" She gave no response, and he took that as an invitation to come in, sitting on the bed next to her motionless form, still lying on her stomach with her face buried. "I'm sorry." He whispered. "Amane, I… Well. Let's not make any excuses. I shouldn't have said that- any of it." She didn't answer, so, swallowing, he changed tack. "I will come to the cinema with you guys tomorrow. And… If you don't like Jason anymore, that's alright." He closed his eyes. "If you like Joey now, that's alright. And… if you don't, that's alright to. Even if you have no idea… that's alright."

Amane couldn't help but laugh, although still fighting back tears. "You're really bad at this." She commented, sitting up. "But… that's alright. I'm sorry I said all that stuff about…everything… about Jay… I just…" She sighed, resting her head miserably on her brother's good shoulder. "I really miss him. I really miss the old days."

"I know. Me to." Ryou answered calmly.

Amane suddenly giggled again. "This is just like when we were kids. Only when I was upset then, you always cheered me up by putting on a posh accent and saying 'Come on, now, Amy. Chin up'…"

"'Stiff upper lip, and the like'…" Ryou completed, smiling slightly.

"That was it." Amane sighed. "I was so easily amused back then. But after you got the Ring… it just got so much more complicated… more confusing…"

"It did." Ryou agreed, sombrely.

"But, even so…" Amane sat up properly. "We need to try and have some fun along the way. That's why we should go tomorrow, try to relax a little. I hope you have a nice shirt to wear."

Ryou rolled his eyes. "Does it really matter what I wear? We'll be in a dark room most of the time."

"Of course it does!" Amane chirruped. "If you're going to impress Sere-"

He pressed a hand over her mouth, blushing. "Be quiet!" He commanded. "It's not like that!"

"_Sure…_" Amane teased lightly. As his blush faded, his cheek remained red. She'd hit him hard. "Oh… um… sorry about the slap."

"I think I deserved it." Ryou admitted.

"It's not like you to be so…" She trailed off.

"I know. Sorry." Ryou apologised again, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. "It's just been… a hard day."

"Tell me." Amane commanded, getting herself into a comfortable listening position, hugging her slightly damp pillow to her stomach. "I want to know what you meant when you said Jason was 'worse then dead'. And how you got hurt, for that matter."

Ryou sighed, the exhalation making his bangs fly upwards, and flopped back onto the bed as he told her. When he got to the bit with Jason, she began to cry again, for her friend's fate. This time, she didn't try to stop herself, and neither did Ryou. Some things just had to come out naturally, lest they explode again. Eventually, Ryou stood up to leave. It was his turn to cook.

"I was thinking I might make donburi…" He tried.

"As long as it isn't fish." Amane replied, having had some trouble adjusting to traditional Japanese diets. "I'm sick of fish."

"Actually, I was going to make chicken donburi."

"Oh, okay."

Ryou headed off, deciding not to tell her that this donburi was just chicken, rice, and vegetables. She had yet to comprehend that almost everything came with rice here, and was always surprised by it. They both knew she'd eat it in the end, so why did she bother complaining…?

"Ryou?" She called after him, suddenly.

"Yes?" He turned around, and she grinned evilly at him.

"I hope you didn't think anything _immoral _when you saw Penny in a towel…"

Ryou groaned mentally. He _knew _he should have omitted that bit. He was _never _going to hear the end of it…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When Amane and Ryou arrived at the cinema the following morning, the other two were already waiting for them. Amane waved cheerily.

"Sorry we're late!" She smirked. "_Ryou _couldn't choose what to wear!"

Her brother rolled his eyes. "Every shirt I put on, she decided wasn't suitable." He complained mildly. Serenity laughed at him.

"Ryou, a shirt with 'The Hero's way always leads to the Triforce' is not a cool shirt. It's just weird." She tutted.

"It sounds pretty cool to me…" Joey said, having seen the _Legend of Zelda _motif in game shops.

"Me to. But they don't do them for girls…" Serenity added.

"See?" Ryou smiled triumphantly, waving at the two.

Amane shrugged. "It's fine, when it's just our friends. We're out in _public_, here! You should only be a nerd in a closet, where you belong! All those games and stuff that no-one in the _real _world cares about…"

"Um, excuse me…" Someone said to Joey, nervously. They turned to see a girl wearing a T-shirt with the _Megaman _logo on it. She grinned. "It _is _you!" She said happily. "Second at Duellist Kingdom and Battle City, right?"

"Something like that." Joey agreed, deciding not to correct her on his standings at Battle City.

"Cool." She nodded. "You got a good game, man. Hey, wait. You're not too bad either…" She gestured at Ryou. "Um…You _were _there, weren't you?"

"That's right." Ryou answered, easily.

"Oh, good. Thought you were." She wandered off.

Amane slapped her forehead. "Goodness me, it's an _invasion_." She sighed, and Serenity laughed. "Well, whatever. Let's go and get tickets already!"

The rest of the trip almost passed without disaster. But, of course, nothing went without disaster anymore. The four sat in a row, with Ryou at one end, followed by Amane, Joey, and finally Serenity. The film was good, which was quite unusual for one based on a novel. This one followed quite closely, but didn't try to be one hundred percent accurate; and it was all the better for it. Constantly, the audience was in tears, or in tears of laughter. It was a very enjoyable experience, or, at least, it started as one.

Half way through, Amane discovered her popcorn box was empty.

"I need a refill." She muttered.

"Me to." Joey replied, and they decided to go while it was a 'slow bit'. They filed past Ryou, leaving his feet sufficiently squashed. He slid down the row next to Serenity, to avoid getting the same treatment twice. In the dark, she rolled her eyes.

"They were large tubs, to." She whispered. "I don't know how they can eat so much…!"

"Nor me." Ryou admitted. "It's a constant mystery to me…"

Meanwhile, Joey and Amane were approaching the snack kiosk.

"The best thing about going in the middle of a film is that there's no que!" Joey pointed out. Amane nodded in agreement.

"Now then… should we get sweet or salted…?" She wondered.

"How about we get one type each, and then mix them up?" Joey suggested, well used to the hated debate.

"That would work." Amane smiled. They went and placed their orders with the man at the kiosk, who had some trouble working the machine. Eventually, though, they had what they wanted, paid, and headed back towards the screen. Amane's mind was working furiously. It had been a different person behind the counter then it had been at the start of the film. He hadn't been wearing a uniform, or a name tag, or anything. He obviously hadn't known how to use the machine. And, now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen any other member of staff in the entire cinema since they went in… They slipped back into their seats, and she muttered something to Ryou, who immediately stood, and headed outside. Serenity watched him leave, wondering if it wouldn't have made more sense for him to go to the toilet when the other two had left. She thought nothing more of it as she turned around to apologise to the people behind, who were becoming understandably irritated at all this up and downing.

In the darkness of the screen, no-one saw Ryou slip something made of grey cloth out of his pocket.

He didn't return to the screen. When the others came out, they were surprised to find that they guy who had served Amane and Joey was now out-cold on the floor, about to be removed by police. The staff were explaining to the officers how they had been threatened with a gun before being locked in the finance office. It had been Masquerade who had opened the door.

"Man, he was right under our noses and we didn't see him!" Joey complained.

"Well, at least the film was good." Amane consoled him.

Serenity nodded. "It was. I wonder why Ryou left?" She sounded a little hurt. "I thought he was enjoying it…"

"I was." Ryou smiled, having appeared seemingly from nowhere. He couldn't go back into the film now that the staff knew that Masquerade was in the cinema. He'd had to make a great show of flying away and then walking back up as himself to meet the others. Of course, he hadn't been allowed into the film half way through, and he would have been forced to buy a new ticket anyway. "But, on my way back, I saw the police everywhere, and they told me it was a hostile situation and escorted me out! I wasn't allowed back in!"

This wasn't strictly true. He had dealt with it far before the police had turned up to make the arrest.

"I see…" Serenity frowned. "Did you happen to catch sight of Masquerade?"

"No." Ryou shook his head. "I looked, but…" he sighed. "I really _was _enjoying the film… what a disappointment…"

"Never mind, Ryou!" Amane said, hooking an arm around his neck. "It'll be out on DVD in a few months!"

He sighed. This trip had been, according to Amane, to make him relax. That man had ruined it… How very inconsiderate some of these criminals were.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Penelope had not been able to relax very much either over the weekend. Once the media had followed the bank robbers from the crime to her house, suddenly, every news station and paper had wanted to interview her about her run-in with Masquerade. Well, she wasn't telling anyone. She had taken the phone off the hook, and pulled the plug out from the wall. Her mom had been forced, when she returned home that night, to force her way through a great swarm of reporters, and for the rest of that night and the following day, they'd locked themselves in the house with the curtains drawn. Luckily, by Saturday afternoon, they caught whiff of Masquerade doing his thing at a nearby cinema, and had gone hounding after lots of new people to interview. She thought she had been forgotten, but, of course, when she returned to school on Monday, she had become somewhat a celebrity. Battling her way up the corridor through people dying to know all the details that she really didn't care to divulge, she finally made it to her form room, only to find the entire school newspaper team in there. Some, she saw, were interviewing Joey.

"Well, I didn't see _him_…" Joey was saying. "But I saw the guy that done it! I brought popcorn from him!" He gestured wildly in an attempt to make it sound more impressive.

"Do you seriously expect me to believe that he managed to get even more money then what he was about to steal by selling you popcorn?"

"Yeah! Ask Amane! She was there to!"

Hoping she would go unnoticed even longer, Penelope from the doorway towards her desk. It was a bad idea. Immediately, the editor of the paper was upon her.

"Penelope! Thank goodness! You met him, didn't you? Come on, give us the full story!"

"No." Penelope said flatly.

The editor leaned in. "Come on… I know you wouldn't sell out to the big papers, but we're not like that. We don't even pay for our stories! But Masquerade is gripping the imagination of Domino High, and it's our duty to fuel it!"

"No." Penelope repeated, dully.

"Why won't you tell anyone what happened?" The editor sighed. "Come on! The world- well, the school- needs to know! Unless something unscrupulous went on…!" She scratched an imaginary beard.

"What are you talking about?" Penelope sighed. "Actually- I hate to think what you're thinking! But that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you."

"But, Penelope-"

"She said no." Amane said, appearing to help. "No-one gets an interview with Penny without an appointment!"

"An appointment?" The editor said, indcredously, as Amane blatantly picked up her school planner and turned to the week's page. "Fine… When can I interview her?"

"Well, tell me when you want, and I'll see when you can be fitted in…" Amane, the self-appointed Manager, smiled sweetly. Penelope elbowed her anxiously, mouthing '_no interviews!'._

"How about lunchtime?"

"Sorry, we're fully booked till the twelfth of Never." Amane shrugged.

"What! That's rubbish!"

"Look, I can only please on person a day." Amane sighed. "Today is not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look good either."

Finally, the bell signifying the end of form rang, and Penelope hurried out. On the way, she brushed past Ryou, knocking his shoulder. Although she carried on walking without so much as batting an eye, he bit down on a shout of pain, clutching the affected shoulder. The stitches were the sort that would eventually dissolve, so at least he didn't need them removed, but it was certainly going to be sore for a while, and probably leave yet another scar on his body.

Penelope didn't notice the pain she had caused him. She wouldn't notice until it was pointed out to her.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

One day down, four to go, and then it was the weekend again. Trudging on, Penelope sighed. Why did the week have to be so _long_…?

It wasn't that she was ungrateful to Masquerade. It was just that she didn't _really _want to let on that she had been wearing nothing but a bath towel with a paw-print pattern at the time. Besides, if she was honest, that wasn't even her major concern.

She didn't want the whole school to know about Jason. She was sure that the more unkind students would use it against him and against her, and even the kinder ones would suddenly become overbearingly sympathetic. And then there was the inevitable question of what had happened to him- as much as Ryou might _deserve _to be shunned, that would then reflect onto Amane. Penelope didn't want that.

But… if she really stopped to think about it, she wasn't entirely sure that it was _purely _for Amane. Maybe, maybe, there was a tiny part of her, way down inside, that had seen Ryou with his sister, and was reminded of the old, happier, times. Maybe that part was also beginning to recognise that she had no idea what had happened that day; and if she didn't know, how could she put the blame on him…?

She shook the thoughts away. That part was just pining after days that would never return. Ryou had been the one to do this to her brother. She might not know the how, or even the why, but she knew it in her gut instinct. She couldn't forget it.

Penelope pulled her thoughts back to Masquerade, and safer territory. Having met him, she wasn't sure what all the fuss was about. For one thing, he was just a kid, probably no older then her. He hadn't even been able to get them out of the bathroom, until he blew the door off its hinges and caused thousands of pounds of damage. Then, there was the niggling detail that he was so similar to Faceless, who had once worked with a couple of other heroes in the UK, all three of which had disappeared one after the other. She was certain they were the same- the powers matched precisely. Now, how many Australian kids were there living locally that had once lived in England? Not that many, she should imagine. Penelope snorted as she thought of all the difficulties the press were having trying to track him down. For goodness sake, she could do it herself within five minutes on the internet- or at least take a good guess! Still…

For all his faults, Masquerade had saved her brother. She had to give him that one. She'd never forget it.

As she continued up the hill towards the old train station, the very place where Ryou and Amane had been reunited, there was a man waiting for her. He had been waiting for her, and an opportunity like this for a long time. She drew level with him, and he called out in English.

"Excuse me…" Penelope turned, imagining he was going to ask for the time or something. His words shocked her. "I think you can help me, Penelope…"

+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

There was also someone waiting for Seto as he walked into his office at Kaiba Corp. This time, it was not the man, but a woman, little older then Seto himself. She received no more friendly a greeting. In fact, he did not even acknowledge her presence, paying no more attention to her then if she was a potted plant, and began to start up his computer. Not one to give up, she came and perched jauntily on the edge of the desk.

"Seto… Aren't you even going to look at me?" She pouted theatrically, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You might like what you see…"

"You evidently know how to use a door. Do so." Seto commanded, still not looking up. Suddenly, her smile faded, and she jerked his face upwards, not letting go of his chin. Knowing he had no chance of breaking free, Seto didn't try- instead meeting her gaze levelly. "What do you want?"

"It's been so long…" She said, using her spare hand to stroke his face. "What if I just want to catch up?"

"Give it up." Seto snorted. "And stop degrading yourself. You would _never _flirt with me unless _he_ put you up to it. Tell me what you really want, so I can decline, and you can get out of here."

"Same attitude." She dismissed scathingly, carelessly tossing his face away. Then she pushed her face up close into his. "Seto, I'm supposed to convince you to come back with me."

Seto glared back. "Never." He hissed.

She tried the cute approach again, trying out the 'puppy dog' look. "But… Seto… we're the only family you ever had. We _saved _you…"

Seto raised an eyebrow, and stood up. "You did not 'save' me, you _condemned _me! I was no better off with your lot then I was with the rest! Is it any wonder I wanted out?"

"How about after that?" She asked, innocently, tapping her chin. "I seem to recall a certain disastrous trip to England with your step father… Wasn't it 'my lot' that rescued you?"

Seto snorted. "No. Don't try to fool me- he was a free agent. The only role you played in it was the one out to kill me. And, I suspect, the only reason I'm not dead now is that people world-wide would notice if I was gone."

"I wonder if they'd notice _Mokuba _was gone." She snapped, maliciously. Seto's eyes narrowed.

"Is that a threat?"

"It might be."

Seto shrugged, pointedly opening the office door. "Tell _him_ this- you never 'had' me to begin with, and you never will. I'm out to unmask Masquerade for my own purposes, and what he does after that is his own business."

"But, Seto, if you do that; it could be really bad for us. Really bad for _everyone_… particularly your brother."

"Give it up." Seto said, tiredly. "We both know you won't do a thing- I'm not going to waste my breath repeating myself."

"That makes you our enemy."

"I'm aware of that." Seto smirked. "So be it."

She huffed nosily, and pushed past him to the door, pressing unnecessarily close to him as she went. She smiled predatorily.

"Fine… But as to how I would 'never' flirt with you…" She said, slowly. "Don't count on it. You've aged well." She sighed. "When did you become a man…?"

"Perhaps around the same time you became a slut." Seto answered, coolly, turning away from her all-too-revealing top. She scowled.

"Heh. One day, Seto, I'll ruin that pretty face of yours… I promise."

With that, she was gone.

Seto sank down into his chair, with no other option then to begin work. Idly, he noted things were becoming more serious. He wondered how much longer he could avoid them. At any rate, he was determined to reach Masquerade first. He would prove to the world this scam.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Do I know you?" Penelope asked, civilly, although she took a step backwards, ready to run if she had to.

"Not exactly…" The man shrugged. "We just have a…mutual acquaintance, who I would dearly love to find."

Penelope was suspicious. "Just who are you?"

He took a step closer. "I'm an ally of yours, if you will. I hate Masquerade in precisely the same way that you hate Ryou Bakura."

She backed off properly now, but some small curiosity kept her from straying too far. "What?"

"Come on…" He sighed. "You're a clever girl, aren't you? I know that your brother is in a right state; and that the one responsible is Ryou."

"…How do you know?" She asked, appalled and intrigued all at once.

"It's my business to know." He answered, softly. "He's hurt so many homes like he has yours… and I'm out to stop him hurting any more. But I need your help."

"I…" Penelope wavered.

"Please!" he begged, desperately. "Penelope, he's Masquerade!"

Penelope jolted in surprise. "What?" She gasped.

"Think girl, think!" He answered. "Didn't Faceless disappear the same day Ryou did? The day that the fire killed his mother and nearly got his sister? He fled, Penelope, he fled _here_- and now he's taken on a new alias and he's at it again! Please, we have to stop him."

"It… you must be lying." Penelope shook her head, staring at him like he was mad. "Masquerade _saved _Jay… It _can't _be Ryou…"

"He was just feeling guilty! A minor relapse!" The man insisted, grabbing hold of her arm. Repulsed, Penelope began to pull away, but there was something almost hypnotic in her eyes, and she stopped. It was starting to make sense… "What about the day of the bank robbery? Didn't Ryou go home sick? Or at the cinema- he was there at the time! And when you bumped into him, didn't you see the pain it caused him? He's got a wound there! If you don't believe me, look, tomorrow."

"I…" Penelope said, slowly. Then, shaking slightly, she was struck with the truth of his words. "His powers… is that what he did to Jay?"

The man nodded earnestly. "And to so many others… Please, I'm the only real 'good guy'. I can't stop him alone."

Penelope was still trying to comprehend all this. There was once a time when she would have never believed Ryou was evil, but now… now, she just didn't know what to believe anymore. And it explained how he did what he did to Jay. If she knew what it was, perhaps she could fix it. That was why they'd come to Japan to begin with- there was the world's best health care here, perhaps they could help Jason- but it was no good. Yet, if it was Ryou… Masquerade… that had done this, perhaps he could undo it. But first, they had to catch him, stop him from doing it again.

Penelope was confused. She didn't know anything anymore. She wasn't sure she believed a word this man was saying. But ever since Jay had collapsed, she had known it was something to do with Ryou, and had grown to hate him for it. She clung to that now, as she nodded dubiously.

"Alright. I'll help." Then, seeking some assurance to assuage the doubts this was the moral thing to do, she added "But, at least tell me your name!"

"My name?" he sounded almost surprised. But then he smiled, and, nervously, she thought she saw a trace of madness in it. "My name is Tom."

"Okay…" He was looking at her expectantly. "Um… hello, Tom."

"Hello." He smiled still. "So, Penelope Grace Hightman, are you ready to start?"

"What do I have to do?" She asked, cautiously.

"It's perfectly simple. I just need some information…"

"Like what?"

His smiled broadened even more. "Why…Whatever you can give me, my dear."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Destiny, I've always found, is such a funny idea. And yet, it is one of the most international philosophies. In Western countries, that were either given Christianity under the Roman empire or later, when the Europeans invaded and 'civilised' them, I guess it stems from the belief that God had a preordained plan for you. There was very little emphasis on the free will concept in those days, so I suppose the idea of fate and destiny came from that. In other countries, like here in Japan, where it is predominantly Buddhism and traditionally Shinto, I believe the concept of 'destiny' is almost as old as time itself. Still… I'm not sure I believe in it myself. Maybe I don't want to- would that mean I had no choice in the matter? Although, lately, I have been feeling my life is slipping out of my control… It could all be bizarre coincidence. Maybe it was all 'meant to be', in the eye of God, or in the alignment of the stars, or whatever else. Perhaps that isn't so important. I'm living through it regardless, and I have to try my best. I can't sit back and blame any bad decisions or consequences on 'fate'. I have to take responsibility for myself. God has given free will; to decide everything from the little choices to the big ones. And then I shall have to live with the effects._

_I think I like it that way; with no-one to blame but myself. This way, I cannot dwell on the problems and become bitter. I just have to get on with it. Perhaps that is the best thing for everyone. _

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A/N: On a completely random note, this fic has just completed it's one hundredth page on the word 'effects'. It seems we'll be looking at something of **WyG **proportions here, everybody… _(Sweatdrop) _But now, I have something ultra special for you! An OUTTAKE! Well, not exactly. The scene when Ryou first enters at the start of this chapter and the end of the previous one, was originally going to run as follows; but I changed it because it didn't quite… oh, never mind. Just take a look…:

_Ryou was not in a good mood as he landed on his room, pulling the stifling mask off at last. He was dusty and dirty from his crawl through the vents, his shirt sleeve was bloody from the near-shooting, and his shoulder hurt unbelievably, as they'd been arguing too much to give him any painkillers following the stitches being put in. He swung open the door from the roof access and pounded downstairs into his room._

_"Amane!" He yelled as he went. Usually, in public, they'd speak in Japanese, as it was only polite, and at home in English. True to habit, it was English he spoke now. He walked across to open the door to his room, and go out into the hall. "I have just spent my afternoon crawling around in air vents and locked in Penelope Hightman's…" He trailed off. Amane was looking at him in horror from where she stood by the open front door; where she had been trying to convince his well-wishing friends that it was a really, really bad idea for them to visit right now. He stared at them, becoming all too aware of his worn appearance as they gawped back at him. "…new book!" He completed slightly hysterically, grabbing a random novel from the shelf just inside his room. _

_His friends, reasonably fluent enough in English to grasp the basics of the final sentence. He smiled sheepishly._

_"Oh, hello everyone!" He said, waving the book. "Has anyone read this?"_

_They slowly shook their heads._

_Luckily, Amane was better at lying then he was._

And so on and so forth. In conclusion… rhetorical questions! There's a big maths test coming up, but who will pass and who will fail? When the school is on fire, will they even take it? Who ends up in hospital, who ends up missing, and who ends up trapped? Why is a boy in the girls toilets? Will Masquerade be able to keep up? Things start heating up- please excuse the appalling pun, I couldn't resist- in **A Superhero Story Chapter Eight- A Pyromaniac! **

…I had to title the chapter that. Just for **Scooby. **_(Smirks) _Join me next time, both those who review, and the 'silent readers' my stats tell me are watching this fic! I hope you enjoyed!


	9. A Pyromaniac

A/N: Well, here we are again. It's back to school on Wednesday so I doubt I'll be able to update again before then. Although, all my friends are back tomorrow or Tuesday, so I can't really go out and do anything… Meh. We'll see how it goes, ne? I'm afraid this chapter is still a little shorter then usual, but it's not a big difference… Also, this gets more… serious. Things are rapidly slipping away from the 'feel-good' affairs of the beginning… Hmm… See what you think!

Disclaimer: Same old, same old. And the book Ryou refers to towards the end is _Across the Nightingale Floor, _by Lian Hearn. Yeah…

Eight- A Pyromaniac 

Amane worried her lip with her teeth as she thought. "Okay… I can do this…"

"I know you can." Ryou answered. "Take your time."

"Okay… Um… Standard Deviation… It's the square root of… right?"

Ryou nodded. "Keep going."

"The square root of… the sum of… _x _minus the… mean of _x_, square it… and… um…" She suddenly screamed in frustration. "It's no use! I can't do it! Why do we have to do dumb tests anyway? Back in Egypt, I just played hooky on test days…"

"I know." Ryou said, comfortingly. "But you've been doing so well since you came here, Amane. You can do this."

"No, I can't." She said, miserably. "I don't get half the basic stuff. I guess I'm just stupid… I don't have a hope of remembering friggin' standard deviation!"

Ryou chuckled. "Amane, you're not stupid. You just missed a lot of school and you're going to need to catch up a bit, that's all. You're not stupid at all! And as for not remembering… you just did!"

She blinked. "I did?"

Ryou nodded. "Yes. Well, you didn't put it over 'n', but…"

"Give me that!" She said, snatching the book from him. Sure enough, there it was. Inside a square root bracket was what she'd said- a little 'E' shaped thing, a bracket, _x_,a dash, an _x _with a line above it, another bracket with a little two floating above, and below a line with a letter 'n' written beneath it. A few weeks ago, all the strange squiggly symbols wouldn't have meant a thing to her. She grinned.

"Excellent!" She whooped. "Ha ha!"

Ryou laughed at her enthusiasm. "Yes, well done… Why don't we leave it there tonight?"

"…No." Amane said, to his surprise; and, indeed, hers. "Ryou?"

"Yes?"

"I am going to _pass _this test!" She declared, determinedly. "I'm tired of flunking! And, Ryou…"

"Yes?"

"I am going to _study_!"

If her words weren't shocking enough, her actions were even more so. Amane was as good as her word, a miraculous work ethic suddenly overtaking her in a way Ryou had never been before. He supposed now that she'd realised she _could _do it, nothing would stop her from doing so. Over the next few days, Amane worked incredibly hard, and, anxious to encourage her, Ryou did to. September passed into early November, and with it came the onset of a proper winter, with all the weather, illnesses, and ailments that blow in with the cold wind. And so it was, after almost a week of hard work, that the day of the test dawned under a light frost and a biting wind.

On this particular morning, Ryou was sitting on the sofa- due to the lack of a proper table in their flat- eating breakfast. Or, at least, what he passed as breakfast; which, as he didn't eat very much, was what most people would qualify as a snack. Swallowing the last bit and reaching for the glass of orange juice before him, Ryou frowned. Amane still wasn't up yet, and, at this rate, he'd have to drag her, kicking and screaming, out of bed. It had happened before. Sometimes, he felt more like a parent then a brother… But, then again, she looked after him a lot as well- she was very useful to have around whenever he lost things or needed an excuse for his superhero-ing or-

However, as it turned out, he didn't have to resort to any such extreme measures that morning. Amane staggered into the kitchen, and then into the living room, where she collapsed into the chair next to him, closing her eyes.

"Good morning…" Ryou said, a little suspiciously.

"M'ing…" Amane mumbled, or, at least, that's what it sounded like. Ryou sighed.

"Come on, Amane… You're not playing sick to get out of the test, are you?" He asked, wearily.

She looked at him, and below her tousled hair that suggested disturbed sleep, a pale face peered out. Even her lively blue eyes, so different to his own mild brown ones, seemed half-asleep. "I'm not sick!" She protested violently.

Ryou was becoming convinced, although he still remained a little suspicious. True, she had never said that before, and she _looked _and _sounded _ill, and she hadn't wolfed down copious amounts of breakfast; but it wouldn't be the first time she'd tried to fool him. However, she had never _denied _being sick before… perhaps this was a new tactic?

"Then why haven't you eaten breakfast?" He tried, tentatively.

"I'm not sick." She repeated. "Not today. We have that test today."

"Okay, now I _know _you're ill." Ryou joked, but she didn't react. Sighing, he came to accept that, this time, she wasn't faking it. "Amane… maybe you _should _stay home today… but if this is some sort of reverse psychology, I swear I'll-"

"I'm not staying home." She said again, adamantly, looking at him with tired eyes. "I'm _not _missing the first test I ever studied for, Ryou. No way…"

"I think you might have to." Ryou answered, a little bewildered by this entirely foreign situation. He lifted her hand, pressing it to her forehead. Even from there, he could detect the heat coming from it. "Amane, you're giving off more heat then a radiator."

"The radiators aren't on." She replied, dopily. "And if they are, why is it so cold in here?"

"You see?" Ryou said, gently. "The radiators _are _on. It isn't cold in here at all. Amane, just go back to bed."

"But…"

"Don't worry. They'll only make you do the test when you get back. Let's just hope you remember what you've learnt!" He told her, mildly amused. With a little more persuasion, Amane agreed to going back to bed. Ryou, meanwhile, was thoroughly wierded out. He'd _never _had to convince her _not _to go to school before… it was the exact opposite to what he usually did, and he didn't like it very much. Regardless of this, he went and finished getting ready for school. Just before he left, he knocked on her door, intending to go and say goodbye; but when he went in, to his surprise, she was completely conked out- dead to the world. She really _was _sick this time… Apparently, she'd come down with the bug that was sweeping through the school. He just hoped he wouldn't come down with it- a sick superhero is not a productive one. And he had missed so much school already…

Speaking of which, he needed to go, before he was late. He left the flat quietly, without even saying goodbye. Amane, for the moment, didn't stir; only tossing fitfully in her sleep as the morning wore on. It wasn't until several hours later that she finally awoke.

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Although he left home earlier then the others, Ryou lived furthest away from the school, and, as a result, was usually the last on there. Today was no different, but even from a block away he got the distinct feeling something was wrong. The air was muggy, hot, and heavy. Tendrils of smoke began to curve lazily round his head, occasional orange sparks riding upon them. As he drew closer, he could smell the scent of smoke, and quickened his pace; heart hammering. He knew all about what fires could do. He continued his approach, fingering the gauze of the mask in his pocket. He may find himself needing it.

He rounded the corner, and, just as he feared, the school was ablaze; flames leaping from the windows like fiery phantoms. The whole building glowed, spewing out gusts of black smoke and crackling and growling to itself; although, for the moment, it seemed the fire was in the middle of spreading impossibly fast across from the west side. A huge crowd bathed in its brilliant shadow, both students and the general public, gathered to see the spectacle. Ryou forced his way through until he found his own friendship group huddled together. On such an occasion, no-one wasted time on greetings.

"What happened?" Ryou asked of them. "Besides the obvious, that is…"

"No-one knows." Tristan shrugged. "I heard it only started about ten minutes ago, just before we arrived. It's spreading really fast, though… I wonder when the fire brigade will show up…"

"Is everyone alright?" Ryou checked, as if they would know.

"Half the students were off school with that bug." Téa answered. "I take it Amane's off sick to?"

Ryou nodded, but hardly noticed her words. As he stared up at the dancing flames, the writhing fog, he could only think of another day; another time when he saw exactly this. It made him feel ill himself. He couldn't even help- his air would only fan the flames. He couldn't do a thing. He couldn't stop it. Just like he hadn't been able to stop it then. He had been too late, far too late, and his mom had died. He hadn't even been able to save his own mother. And now he wouldn't be able to save his school. This couldn't be happening. Not again. Not again…

Meanwhile, the others were growing concerned.

"Do you think Penelope's sick to?" Yugi asked. The girl was usually the first there, and could often be found before school making use of the music room. They'd quickly discovered she was a skilled piano player, but when they had moved, hadn't been able to bring the instrument with them. As such, she often got to school really early in order to practise before school. This morning, however, as they scanned the accumulated crowd, she was nowhere to be seen.

"I haven't seen her." Téa answered, anxious now.

"You don't think…" Joey trailed off, looking in horror at the burning building. "Well… she hangs round with Amane a lot right? So she's probably caught this bug off her, and she's at home- sick, but safe. Right, Ryou?"

He turned, but Ryou had gone. The others turned, confused, but they couldn't see him anywhere. More then one heart began to sink.

"Tell me he hasn't…" Téa groaned, turning back to the school again.

"He has!" Joey exclaimed. "That _idiot!_" Then he paused. "Still… the guy has guts… I never would have thought he had it in him!"

"Guts might not save him in there…" Yugi remarked, sadly, worriedly, as they all stared at the building. It was completely alight now, including all across the doors. There was no longer any way in. "We'll just have to hope he makes it out okay…"

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Unaware of the tumult he was causing amongst his friends, Ryou was inside the burning building, desperately searching. For once, he wasn't being his usual sensible safe, assessing the risk. All he could think was that he had all but killed her brother. He couldn't let her die to. He just couldn't do that. Whatever their relationship now, they had once been friends. Penelope couldn't die. He couldn't let her die.

The fire, he knew, was mostly on the other side of the building, but it was approaching fast. He chocked in the smoke, his eyes watering, but for the moment at least, it wasn't too thick. He ran down towards the music room as the fire began to lick at the display boards posted next to the stairs. There wasn't much time. No, there wasn't _any _time. But he couldn't run now. He couldn't run. Not again.

He forced the door to the music room open, and although it was unlocked, the room was deserted. The piano stood there, silent, but with the contented air of one that had only just been used. Everything else stood undisturbed, unaware of its fate. Ryou lingered no longer, heart pounding. The air was getting thicker, heavier, and even his efforts to drag oxygen out from the smoke and into his lungs couldn't protect them completely. It was only a matter of time before he was completely unable to breathe. He remembered his old lessons, and crouched down low, where the smoke would be less abundant, pulling a cloth from his pocket to cover his mouth. It happened, of course, to be his mask; but he couldn't help that now. Desperately, head pounding and swirling, he tried to think where she could be.

Panicked slightly, he began to wonder if he had got himself trapped in this nightmare for no reason- what if she really was at home sick? The fire was here now, licking at the wooden doorframes and singeing the carpet, teasing him because soon they to would be alight. Through the smoke, Ryou could make out the front doors, even now almost over taken by the flames. If he ran, he could make it. He forced his lead-like legs to stumble forward more quickly, but even as he did, he detected the sound of running water. Turning quickly, he saw the door to the girls toilets, and swallowed.

_First the bathroom, and now this…_

He rammed his shoulder into the door, and it swung open beneath the sudden, lurching weight. He stumbled through, and straight into Penelope, who was washing her hands at the sink. She wasn't very happy to see him.

"What are you doing in here?" She asked, quietly, dangerously.

Ryou said nothing, trying to get his breath back. The air was reasonably clear in here, although he could see smoke curling up underneath the door. Apart from that, you almost wouldn't be able to tell the place was on fire at all. Apparently, Penelope remained blissfully unaware.

"No answer? Then you know you shouldn't be in here!" She yelled. "You… you… _pervert_!"

"No, I-"

"Why else would you be in here, you sick freak!" Penelope screamed at him. "First you do all that stuff to Jay, and now you're after me, is that it!"

"No! The school-"

"_The school _won't allow this kind of behaviour, and so they shouldn't! People like you shouldn't be here!"

Urgent now, Ryou grabbed hold of her, and although she protested and struggled, he dragged her over to the door, swung it open, and showed her. Then he let the door swing shut again.

Penelope regarded him in a mixture of shock and horror. "It's on fire?"

"That's what I tried to tell you!" Ryou answered. "Now, listen. The fire has all but consumed the main doors, and the carpets are about to go up. We're going to have to run, and the chances are you'll get burnt, but it's better then dying. I'm afraid you're just going to have to trust me."

"But…" She bit her lip, frightened. "…Okay."

"We need to go as fast as we can." Ryou instructed. "Here, put this over your mouth…" He handed a folded piece of grey material.

"What about you?"

"I'll be alright." He smiled, slightly. Then, to her surprise, he caught hold of her wrist, and dragged them both outside, into the fire and flames and smoke. He pulled her along, and, although it shamed her to admit it, Penelope did nothing but stumble along behind him, eyes streaming in the smoke.

She saw that he was, indeed, alright; an arm up over his mouth, but he was probably breathing better then she was. How could he do that? She glanced down as best she could at the cloth he'd given her. Even from that glimpse, she could tell it was a mask. It was _the _mask.

"You're Masquerade." She said, through it.

Ryou glanced back at her, giving a slight nod, and then continued their flight. Now was neither the time nor the place.

The doors were ahead of them, but the blinds at the windows on either side were alight, and so was the carpet beneath it, along with the wooden doorframe around it. There was no way safely through. He carried on heading for it straight on regardless, and he felt Penelope tugging backwards, but he dragged her on, praying she'd trust him for just a little while longer. He thought he could get them through this if she'd only keep up…

Just as they passed through the doors, Ryou called a wind to blow in from outside, fanning the flames backwards so that, just for a moment, they were almost flat on the ground. That was all they needed as he jumped, sending them careering through, and out into the fresh, moving air at last.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Penelope and Ryou had made it out, and found themselves immediately surrounded by their friends. She lowered the mask slowly from her face, scrunching it up in her hand. Ryou, meanwhile, had sat heavily down on the ground, where he was proceeding to cough his guts up.

"Ryou!" Téa yelled, hugging him fiercely. "You idiot! You could have died in there!"

"I'm sorry." He apologised, weakly, but he smiled. However, Téa wasn't finished with him yet.

"What were you playing at, running in there!" She demanded, shrilly. "What if you'd got trapped? Then there would have been two of you for the fire-fighters to get to!"

"You came in… just to find me?" Penelope asked, surprised. He glanced up at her. "But… why would you do that?"

Ryou shrugged. "Just wanted to be the hero for once, I guess." He discreetly prised the mask from her hand, pushing it into his pocket. "And because you're my sister's best friend… and, once upon a time, you were one of my two best friends as well."

She said nothing. Ryou really _was _Masquerade. That man last week had been telling the truth. But… once again, he had rescued her… was it just guilt? And how had he known she would be in the fire? More to the point, how had he known there would _be _a fire?

He really was a… bad guy?

He had to be. Otherwise, what made it all worthwhile…?

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Shortly after Ryou and Penelope had tumbled out, sufficiently blackened, the fire brigade managed to battle its way through and began to clear the area. Penelope decided to go straight home, claiming she had a lot to think about, but the others, not entirely sure what to do, eventually headed down to the Game Shop. Grandpa was, to say the least, a little surprised to see them back so soon- particularly Ryou's grimy attire. Soon, however, they were gathered in the little sitting room at the back, for once in silent contemplation.

"Well, I'm not complaining." Joey said, suddenly. "Any extra time off is fine by me…"

"We probably won't be able to go back until after Christmas now." Yugi nodded.

"I just don't understand who would have done this!" Téa said, aghast at the wanton arson. "Someone could have been hurt! Ryou nearly was!"

"Eheheh…" Ryou laughed, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Soot and smoke still clung to his skin, making his face look grey and giving his hair the appearance of a Dalmatian. He couldn't wait to get home and shower…

"And whose fault was that?" Tristan rolled his eyes. "Honestly, Ryou, when you start acting irresponsibly, it really freaks me out. Next thing we know, _Joey _will be winning the Nobel prize!"

"Yeah, and you'll manage to chat my sister up." Joey shot back, instantly; surprising them all- they didn't even think he _knew _about that, and would never have expected him to joke about it. Even Tristan was too surprised to retaliate.

"Hmmph… and while we're on the subject of who's after who…" Joey turned and smirked at Ryou. "What's with all this dashing dramatically into burning buildings after Penny, eh?"

"It's not like that!" Ryou protested. "She's just an old friend of mine. And… well, after what happened to her brother…"

"Oh." Joey bit his lip, realising he'd put his foot in it again. "Um… sorry…"

"That's alright." Ryou winked at him. "I could _easily _embarrass you by remarking on how much closer you seem to be getting to my sister…"

Joey gulped. "Ah! I! Um! No! You see, the thing is…" It was then he noticed that Ryou and the others were laughing, and he sighed in relief before joining in. "That was a cruel trick."

"I'm sorry." Ryou apologised; before looking at him sideways. "Although, your reaction does suggest…"

"That maybe it was a sensitive spot." Téa completed, and the group closed in on the hapless blond. "What is it, Joey? He didn't inadvertedly hit the nail on the head, did he…?"

"What? No!" Joey floundered. The truth was, he wasn't entirely sure himself…

"You have to admit, Joey-" Yugi began, only to be interrupted by a mobile phone ringing. Gratefully, Joey pulled it out from his blazer pocket, where he concealed it while at school. Téa frowned disapprovingly at it, but Joey was relieved.

"Speak to me, yo." He said, laughing. However, the smile quickly disappeared. "Yeah, that's right… What!" He bit his lip as he listened. "Yeah- he's my dad… um… It's Takeo! That's it- Takeo Wheeler. I'm his son, Joey. Yeah. Yes. Okay. Thanks. Bye now." He hung up, and then groaned loudly, burying his head in his hands. "I couldn't remember my own father's name." He despaired. "How embarrassing… But then, he hardly bothered to take the time to tell me…"

"Joey?" Yugi put in, cautiously. "…What happened?"

Joey shrugged, but his eyes looked more worried then his body would let on. "The old man's in hospital again."

"The drink?" Tristan asked, saying what no-one else would. Joey shook his head.

"No. Apparently, the flat was on fire…"

"Two fires in one day? That's weird…" Tristan commented. "Yugi, do you think…?"

Yugi shook his head slowly. "…I don't know. It's suspicious; but the Millennium Items are gone now…"

Ryou fought to keep his expression suitable. But Amane's words from their argument were echoing back to him now:

_"_I'm_ burying my head in the sand! You're the one who just lied to one of your best friends to cover your 'superhero' backside! Why not tell them, Ryou! To _protect_ them! Don't be so arrogant! _I_ know, and nothing's happened to me…"_

But now… the fire at the school… the fire where Serenity was living… and _the_ fire, all those years ago, at his own home. Surely, he couldn't be that unlucky… His hands unconsciously tensed up into fists.

"I'd better go." Joey sighed, standing up.

"We'll come with you!" Téa declared, instantly, and the others echoed their agreement immediately.

"Thanks, guys…" Joey said gratefully.

"…Would you mind awfully if I ditched?" Ryou asked, quietly. "You know… with Amane sick and everything… I'd like to go and check on her."

"You go ahead." Joey dismissed, wishing he could go and do something so pleasantly mundane with someone so friendly.

"Thank you… Also, I could really use a shower." Ryou said, dryly, cheering the mood slightly. "Oh… I'll go and meet Serenity as usual, let her know…"

Joey smiled slightly. "Thanks."

With that, they all split up and went their separate ways.

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Meanwhile, unaware that at the end of the day, she'd have no home to go back to, Serenity was happily eating lunch with some of her friends. Hinata High was a school for the brightest and best, and although she wasn't the cleverest there, Serenity enjoyed a challenge. Today, as she bit into a cheese and cucumber sandwich, her friend Risado was quizzing her on her Spanish. Serenity, who had only been taught English and Japanese at her last school, often had difficulty keeping up.

_"What are you eating?"_

"_I'm eating a sandwich with cheese and_... cucumber." She replied, giving up at the end.

"Um…" Her friend spooned up a mouthful of yogurt as she tried to think of another question. "_Do you have brothers or sisters?_"

"_Yes._" Serenity nodded, smiling slightly at the thought of her brother. "_I have a big brother- he's called Joey._"

Her friend hesitated, but then, looking Serenity right in the eye, she asked:

"You live your brother, I know that, but… What happened to your parents?"

"…That's not Spanish." Serenity answered, shortly.

"'Ren… please, I don't want to pry, but… You only ever talk about Joey. What about your parents?"

"Is it that important?"

"Yes! I'm worried about you, is all…"

Serenity looked down at the remains of her lunch. Suddenly, she wasn't hungry any more.

"My dad is an alcoholic, and my mom's a control freak." She said, simply. "Try saying that in Spanish."

She grabbed all her stuff, and before Risado could stammer a reply, she had run out of the canteen.

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Ryou walked home slowly, still turning the day's events over in his mind. Two fires in one day. One at his school, one at the home of his… Who? His friend- that would do. Serenity did mean a lot to him, and so, of course, did her brother. Yugi and the others had assumed, quite naturally, that if this _was _more then a coincidence, then it would be after the King of Games. Perhaps that was true. Taking into account their experiences over the last few years, it was certainly more likely. But… The method. The fires. Just like the one at his home all those years ago…

He shuddered, not wanting to think about it. He had lost his mom. He had almost lost his sister. And now he had found her, he was anxious to get home and see what she thought- if she wasn't still asleep. She'd seemed pretty ill this morning… Still, she _should _be awake by now. She probably knew about the fire by now. It had probably been extinguished, and yet, even this far from the school, the air still carried drifts of smoke and ash with every wind. As Ryou watched, this struck him as strange- it shouldn't happen. It was too far away, too long ago… And then, he realised the smoke was not coming from behind him, but from ahead.

Heart in his mouth, Ryou forced himself to keep walking slowly, but, as the air became thicker and thicker, more and more sludgy, he found himself going faster and faster, running as fast as he could, not daring to look up to where his block of flats loomed over the horizon. Past the Remington Bridge, where this had all began, he went, past Hinata High as the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch, and still onward, on and on. _No, no, no, no_; his heart seemed to be beating it out, pumping it around his body. He didn't notice as his feet stopped hitting the pavement, impacting instead on bouncy balls of air, propelling him along impossibly fast. He didn't even look down to see he was hovering a good five centimetres above the ground.

Then, he reached his street. He thumped back down to the ground.

In contrast to his reckless, mindless speed of a few seconds before, Ryou slowed right down, his breathing coming in deep, shaking gulps. He was enchanted by the horrors before him, unable to resist the allure of the sights and sounds. He pushed his way through the small group of onlookers, most at work at this time of day, and stared up at the colossus, the towering inferno before him. He stared up at what used to be his home, a block of flats, consumed by flame.

He bit his lip, but the flat didn't matter. He turned wildly around, scanning those that were grimy, wrapped in blankets, or staring at the scene in horror. The ones being interviewed by the Police as fire-fighters battled tirelessly to bring it under control. They really were being overstretched today… Divisions from other Tokyo districts had even been drafted in. But they were all outside now, trying to extinguish the flames. There were evacuees of the building standing around, police officers and paramedics, fire-fighters and even reporters from the lunchtime news; but nowhere, nowhere, amongst them was Amane. He ran over to the nearest fire-fighter, desperate.

"My sister!" He gabbled. "My sister- We live in the flat on the top floor! She stayed home today! She's-"

"Hey, calm down there, son." The man said, kindly. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"My sister- my twin sister- I think she's still in there!" Ryou explained, urgently.

"We searched all the flats thoroughly…" The man frowned. "Are you sure your twin isn't out here? What does she look like?"

"Like me!" Ryou despaired. "I'm telling you, she's not out here!"

The man gazed at him a moment longer, trying to ascertain if he was lying. Then, he grabbed hold of his radio, and spoke into it.

"Hey, I've got a kid out here saying his sister's still in there- the top floor flat. Yes, I know we've searched it already! Better send a team in just in case…" He switched it off, looking levelly at Ryou.

"Thank you." Ryou said, quietly. This time, he did not run. He waited. He waited as the team suited up, and ran back inside. He waited, and waited, and waited, as they did their job. He waited as they came out empty handed. He waited as he was told he was lucky- she must have gone out. And still, he waited. He waited and waited and waited, until the flames were all but beaten out. He waited until they were all taken to a local leisure centre where they could sleep that night if they had to. And still, he waited. But Amane was not there, and Amane did not come.

He waited. And, finally, he ran.

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Seto was at work. Of course, this was not unusual. It was, in a way, refreshing to be able to spend his time doing something useful rather then the idiocies they made him sit through at school. However, today, his mind was not on the work in front of him. He was thinking, which wasn't unusual, but he was thinking about his past, which was. The school had been set alight. How very… intriguing. Making a decision, he picked up the phone, and, hesitating over the choice for only a second, rang the number.

"Hello, Domino Elementary School, how may I help you?"

Seto rolled his eyes. Mokuba was in his final year at the Elementary school now, and would come up to Senior School the following year. He was the oldest there, not to mention the smartest. And it would certainly save Seto a lot of trouble.

"This is Seto Kaiba. Please inform my brother he has a dentist's appointment to attend."

The receptionist frowned on the other end. She knew it was dangerous to argue with this man. But still, somehow, she was suspicious. Shouldn't the elder Kaiba be in school himself…?

"Excuse me, sir, but we were not informed of this." She said, tentatively. Seto sighed.

"Mokuba obviously didn't tell you. Let me talk to him."

"Sir, he'll be in class right now, and I probably shouldn't disturb-"

"Let me speak to my brother."

The woman hastened to comply, and Seto drummed his fingers on the desk, waiting. He frowned, trying to remember what class Mokuba would be having. Ah, algebra. The kid was going to _love _him…

"Hi, Seto!" He chirruped a moment later, but suddenly became worried. "What's up?"

"My school burnt down. What classes do you have this afternoon?"

"Algebra, and the Geography." Seto detected the scowl in his voice, and considered. His brother probably knew all this stuff already anyway.

"Fancy ditching?"

"What?" Mokuba asked, surprised.

"My school burnt down. So, I have a free afternoon."

"Don't you have work?" Mokuba asked, unable to believe this.

"Only if you don't want to go out. Do something. So, want to come out, kiddo?"

"Sure!" Mokuba said happily. He and his brother _never _got to spend time together. And Seto seemed even more stressed then usual recently…

"Pretend you had a dentist appointment you forgot about, then." Seto instructed. "I'll pick you up in ten minutes." He hung up, leaning back in his chair.

They would not take Mokuba from him.

Then, he stood, grabbed his coat, and walked out of the office.

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Serenity walked across the playground that day, heading towards the gate to leave for another day, when Risado came and caught her up.

"'Ren!" She shouted after her. "Serenity, please, wait!"

Serenity carried on looking towards the gate. It was strange, but today, she could not see her usual entourage waiting for her. Where were they…? She really wanted to talk to Ryou, but with the others there, she didn't know if she could. Yet, it didn't seem like it would be a problem as none of them were there… Risado caught hold of her arm.

"Serenity…" She said, turning the girl to face her. "Please, don't be angry. I'm sorry I invaded your privacy. But… you know, you haven't been here long… and I was worried that if you and your brother had… run away from home, or something… you'd be taken away again."

Serenity looked at her, and spoke honestly. "In a way, I have. I used to live with my mom, but she smothered me… so I left. I came to live my brother and my dad, but he doesn't know I'm there half the time. I…I promised someone I would go back to my mom, but the longer I stay here, the less likely I think it is…" She looked down at the ground. "Impressive, huh?"

"Nope." Risado replied. "Serenity, as long as you're alright, it doesn't matter what or who your parents are. It really doesn't matter."

They had almost reached the gates now.

"Thanks." Serenity smiled. "Thank you. Sometimes, I almost think I'll- Ryou! What happened!" She ran over to him. On coming out of the school, she'd seen him, standing near the gates, looking into nothing, covered in soot and dirt. Risado moved away, deciding not to involve herself again. Serenity noticed her leaving and was thankful, but didn't turn away from Ryou. He was scaring her a little. She was stood right in front of him, but he didn't look at her. She gripped his shoulders. "Ryou. Come on, Ryou. Look at me. Tell me what happened." He did look at her now. He looked awful, his face grey, almost black, streaks cut through the dirt where tears had fallen.

"Serenity…" He whispered, quietly, almost as if he was surprised to see her. "I…it's gone…"

"What's gone?" She asked, bewildered, and more then a little worried.

"Everything." He answered, still whispering, his voice hoarse. "Everything's gone. I've got nothing. Everything's gone…Everyone's gone…"

"Ryou, you're making no sense." She said, gently. "What's happened?"

"It's happened again…" He said, almost to himself now. "It's happened all over again…"

His words scared her. What scared her more was when tears began to seep down his face again. One thing was clear- she needed to calm him down before she'd get any answers. And she couldn't do that in the middle of the street.

"Okay, Ryou. Why don't we just go back to yours, and we'll sort this all out there?" She said, taking hold of his arm. He shook his head.

"We can't."

"…Alright, how about mine?" Serenity said, a little reluctantly as she recalled what had happened the last time Ryou had ventured near their flat. Again, a shake of the head.

"We can't, Serenity… It's gone to…"

"Okay…" Serenity bit her lip. She didn't know what to do with him when he was like this…! Where could they go? He seemed to have an aversion to his home or hers. What did he mean by 'it's gone'? She filled the worry away, trying to deal with the more immediate problem. Her first thought was one of their other friends, but if Joey was having a problem, the chances were the others would be with him. She didn't have any parents to go to. In fact, the only responsible adult she really knew was…

"Come on, Ryou." She said, kindly, taking his arm. "We'll go to the Game Shop. I bet Yugi's Grandfather can help us out…"

He gave no response to this, so, scared now, she began steering him appropriately. He walked well enough, but did not speak. He didn't even seem to be aware of his actions.

_Ryou… _She thought, anxiously. _What _has _happened to you…?_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I…I don't even know what to say to him." Serenity said, almost in tears. She and Grandpa Motto were stood in the kitchen of the Game Shop, through which they could see into the living room. Ryou was sitting in there, cleaned up now, drinking some form of hot beverage. His hands were still shaking. When they'd first arrived, Grandpa had been surprised, but just as Serenity had known he would, he had risen to the occasion, and, between them, they had got Ryou sat down, got him to drink something, and, gradually, as he came back to himself, coaxed the story out of him, little by little. "…What do you say to someone who's lost everything? His home, his sister… He'd only just found her again after the first time. It's just so… unfair…" She whispered, feeling herself beginning to cry to; worried for Ryou, worried for Amane.

"Now, don't you start!" Grandpa cried, not unkindly. "I'm an old man! I can only deal with one crisis at a time!" He handed her a piece of kitchen towel, and she got herself cleaned up. "And as for young Ryou… he'll be fine. You'll see- he's in shock right now, but soon he'll be back to himself and he'll fight his way through this. And Amane will turn up, I'm certain. In the meantime, you should go down to the hospital."

"But…" Serenity looked through to her friend, wishing she could help.

"He's just lost his family." Grandpa reminded her. "Don't let yourself lose yours."

"…Mmm." Serenity agreed, eventually. Ryou himself had once said that to her. Well, not in so many words. But he had opened up to her, spilling his soul and his past, to make her see. She had said it herself:

_"I'll give my mom another chance, as she's still here. It hardly seems fair that you want to see your family but can't, when I'm being so pig-headed about my mom… Just not yet. I'm not ready to go back yet. But I will, one day. I promise."_

When _was _'one day'? How long till that day came…?

_Not today. _She said to herself. _That's all that matters. Not today. Today, I have to help Ryou. _

She moved into the living room, sitting awkwardly down next to him.

"Ryou… I'm going to go up to the hospital now, to see my dad."

He nodded. "That's good."

They lapsed back into silence again.

"Thank you…" He said, quietly, as if he was hardly there. "Thank you for helping me… and I'm sorry to be such a nuisance… Sorry for how I behaved… it's just, when I found she was gone again-"

She placed a hand on his arm. It was shaking. "It's okay." She said, slowly. "She'll be fine, you'll see. And it's okay. You have every right to be upset."

Ryou looked at her, the first time he had made contact since she came in. "…I once read a book. It was a novel, but there was a lot of wisdom in it… A man once said 'Children cry. Men and women endure'."

"He's wrong!" Serenity said, fiercely shaking her head. "He's not right at all!" She looked at him, willing him to understand the sincerity of her words. "It's okay to cry, Ryou. You cry all you need to."

He remained silent for a moment longer, looking away again, and when he did speak, it was even quieter, so she wasn't sure he spoke at all. "Thank you."

Serenity didn't know what to say to that, but still did not leave. Not just yet.

"All my life…" Ryou said, slowly, still not looking at her. "All my life, I've been told 'Don't cry, you're not a child'; 'Don't cry, don't be a baby'… You're the first who has ever…" He trailed off, and, she realised, he'd taken her advice to heart, and he really was descending into tears.

"It's okay…" She said again, impulsively moving to hug him, wishing she could make it alright again with such a mere embrace. "You cry all you need to, okay? But listen to me, Ryou- when you're done, we'll sort this all out. It's not okay, it's not okay at all at the moment, but you'll get through. We'll get you through it. We'll work it out… someday it'll be over… It'll be over someday…"

Normally, Ryou would have been embarrassed at being held in such a way, at being hugged at all; at acting like, and being treated like, a child. But today was far from normal. Normality had disappeared from his life a long, long time ago. And although he knew she was right, and soon he would have to stop crying and act, at that moment, he just needed to cry. He needed to cry more then anything, and to have someone there letting him do so was… wonderful. At that point, what he absolutely needed the most, above all other things, was her.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_I'm always running. _

_Last time, I ran away. I lost my mother that day, and, for a time, I lost Amane. I ran from my problems, and then I ran from myself and my powers. I ran from Monster World. I ran from every friendship extended to me. Even now, I'm trying to run from my feelings._

_I'm _sick _of running. I won't run anymore. _

_It's time to stop. It's time to stop, turn around, and face the things perusing me. _

_I'm just… so glad._

_I ran alone. I shall walk with people beside me._

_…I'll see you soon, Amane. I promise._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Dearie me… I don't know how I can be so mean to the characters sometimes… _(Sob) _It only makes me feel saaaaaad… Which is strange, because, modesty aside, I'm usually fairly optimistic… Hmm again…

Rhetorical questions? This time, m'dears, there are NONE! Why? Because, next chapter, we take a step back from Masquerade and friends. We take a step back from today's Domino. We take a step back a couple of years… After Ryou has the Ring, after Jason has gone… While they're moving around England, before their last home burns… And there, we shall meet a man; who is given a job to do. And there, we shall meet a young boy, destined one day to become head of a large electronics company… Kee kee kee… **A Superhero Story Nine- An Innocent**, to be 'revealed' soon…

And now, I'm going to quit trying to be mysterious and just say 'Bye bye, see you next time'!


	10. An Innocent

A/N: Yay! I got the chapter done at last! But let me not dwell on how much being back at school sucks, on the trials and trivialities of shuffling computers around and spending three days moving files, but merely be AMAZINGLY happy that I no longer have to use floppy disks to post! YAY! (Floppies were the absolute_ bane_ of my existence, can you tell? XD)

Disclaimer: Same old, same old. But lots of lovely original characters in this one, yay! Oh, please, if you've forgotten- remember that back in England, the media name Ryou's hero persona 'Faceless', not 'Masquerade', okay? Enjoy…

Nine- An Innocent

No-one came to England for the climate. True, there were never hurricanes or earthquakes; but then, there wasn't much of anything else either. From early in September through to April or May, the English dashed about under a fixedly grey sky. At this time of night, so close to Christmas, it was colder then usual, and the little girl shuffled impatiently, wrapped up well against the frosty air. She sighed, and a small cloud of steam appeared before her.

"Mommy…" She asked, slowly. "What's he doing?"

"Just wait a second longer." Her mother assured her. "You'll see…"

"I can't see! It's so dark!" The girl answered, pressing to her mother's side. She knew that their shop, their home, with it's familiar name- Jacob Miller's and Son's- was right across the street, but she couldn't see it. It unnerved her.

Then, all at once, the shop lit up, shining in it's brilliance and unveiling the _new _sign above the shop, the one that no longer had her grandfather's name, but her dad's, and… She stared up in awe at the new name.

_Tom Miller's And Daughter's- Traditional Butchers since 1814._

She looked across, and saw her father standing in the doorway, smiling at her. She ran across, hugging him hard.

"You're welcome." He chuckled. "I thought it was about time we made this shop our own, isn't it?"

"Yes!" His daughter replied. "I'll be the best butcher ever, you'll see!"

"Not tonight, you won't." her mother answered, joining the group. "Go on, off to bed with you…" She watched as her daughter scampered off up the stairs.

"Rachel's such an unusual girl." She said, straight faced. "Most girls her age want to _save _animals, be vets- not be a butcher and slice them up!"

"Ah, you're just jealous that she likes me more then you." Tom teased, gently.

"She likes you _now_." His wife commented. "But you can't buy her love, Tom. You need to spend more time with her."

"I know." He sighed, hugging her. "Don't worry. Now that the shop's back on its feet, I'll have more time. We won't be struggling for cash… When I open up again after Christmas, things will be different. You'll see."

"Don't be long locking up." She replied, kissing him gently and pulling away. "It really _is_ getting late…"

"I'll be up in a minute." He promised, as she too went inside the shop and into their home behind it. He stepped inside after her, turning to shut the door behind them, and lock it up for the night. However, a man suddenly threw himself at it, smiling sheepishly.

"You still open, mate?" He called through. Tom frowned a little. It was ten PM on the twenty-third of December. It was hardly likely. "Please, I forgot to get a turkey in! My little girl'll go crazy!"

Tom couldn't help but smile. Ah, that explained it. He knew only too well what a father would do for his daughter. He shook his head, but pulled the door open. "Just be quick, mind. My wife would kill me…"

The man laughed, stepping inside, nodding gratefully. Tom moved to push the door to, but, once again, the man put his foot in it, to keep it open.

"Hope you don't mind." He said, sardonically. "I brought a few friends with me…"

"What…?"

From the darkness on the other side of the road, four, perhaps five, men materialised. Tom took a step back in shock as they spilled in. He hadn't even noticed them standing there! How had he not seen them? How had they been so well hidden? And what did they want…?

The men all but ignored him as they lifted the flap in the counter, and moved over to the tools of his trade- the knives. Everything from carving knives to meat cleavers were inspected, and, one by one, tossed into a pile near the door.

"You…" Tom slowly made his presence known, swallowing hard. He was so frightened, but he couldn't just let these men walk out of here with those instruments. They were designed for use on flesh that was already dead. He was not at all convinced that was their purpose. "You can't take those."

"Why not?" One of the party smirked. He was young, very young, perhaps only twelve or thirteen. And yet, something about him unnerved the poor, old-fashioned, butcher. Tom swallowed again, but stood his ground.

"Because I don't think you need them for meat, do you?" He asked, slowly. The leader walked over, twirling the biggest of the knives, smiling.

"Oh, but, you see, we do. But here…" He pulled Tom's hands out, wrapping them around the handle of the blade. Then, he let go. "If it makes you feel better, you can do the job for us. You see, there's a little problem that needs to be taken care of…"

Tom stared at in horror. "I… I won't! I won't do it!"

"You will." The twelve year old smiled. "Look around, Thomas. Two of the men have gone. They're hiding, right now, in your house. The only decision you have to make is if they die… Or our 'issue' does. Choose!"

Tom bit his lip until it bled, but stared at the floor all the while. How could this be happening…?

"No? Fine. Then another choice presents itself. Who will die first? Your wife, or your child…?"

"Fine." Tom whispered. That single word sealed his fate.

"Good man!" The leader of the pack smiled. "This is where you'll find the target…" He handed a small slip of paper earlier, thusly proving that this had all been planned. "We'll be going now… But, we'll be back in the morning to check you've done it. If you fail, of course, we will have to be reimbursed…Merry Christmas!"

Suddenly, the other two reappeared as mysteriously as they had done earlier, and the four older men picked up the collection of knives, before hurrying out. They had also taken the money from the till, and even the smashed the glass in his counter. All he had left was the solitary, cruel, knife; sitting in his hand, longing for blood. He threw it away, disgusted, and, although he was a grown man, he began to cry bitterly.

He had sold his soul to something awful. But what choice did he have but to follow through…?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town, not a creature was stirring, not even a knife wielding megalomaniac." The girl muttered, drifting along the ground. "Come on, guys! I don't think we're gonna get anything, and I'm freezing my latex off down here!"

"Should have got some better powers, then, shouldn't you?" One of her two companions replied, appearing for a second, perching jauntily on the top of a lamppost. Under his balaclava, the only visible point of his face was his mouth, and it infuriated her that it was smirking. "Or at least a better costume…"

"Better then a black jumpsuit, Phanny!"

He stuck a tongue out at her, groaning. "Oh, come on… 'Phantom' is bad enough. Come on, Elli, do you have to shorten it?"

"My name is Eclipse." She told him, tartly. "And, by the way, I wouldn't use it if you'd tell me your real-"

The third member of their party, Faceless, timidly cleared his throat. He had descended from being their ariel viewpoint some time ago, and he, to, was ready to head home. "She has a point." He said, ever the peace maker. "It _is _quiet. It may not be Christmas Eve till tomorrow, but I would still like to be heading home…" He turned to Eclipse, his mask covering only the top half of his face and his hair, brown eyes peering through. "And this is why you should wear a coat."

"A _coat_?" She sighed. "What kind of hero would I be then, huh? Honestly, guys, try to get into this a _little _more…"

"Um…" Phantom said, from the top of the lamppost. "Don't sign off just yet, gents! I've just found us a knife wielding megalomaniac or two!"

"Really?" Eclipse demanded, spinning around even as she shrunk into the shadows that gave her a name. "Oh, yeah, I see them! Face?"

"Way ahead of you." Faceless answered, easily, already up above her somewhere.

"I think it's your turn, anyways." Phantom pointed out, settling down into a more comfortable spectator position on the lamppost. "We're here if you need back up."

"Awesome." Eclipse smiled, the corners of her Irish mouth disappearing beneath the dipped edges of her white and black, jagged, mask. "Leave it to me, lads! I'll show you how it's done!"

She breathed in sharply, and, suddenly, the shadows that clung around spread like ink in water, concealing her from view. The men running down a side street, weighed down with several knives each, had no chance of seeing her as she approached beneath her cloak of darkness. Before them, there was suddenly blinding light, white, and with such intensity it burnt their faces and eyes. Screaming, they all blundered backwards, hands over streaming eyes. They all tripped and fell, the knives clattering to the ground, the blades sending sparks up from the cobbles. The light dimmed a little, but was still as bright as day, bright enough to see the girl standing before them. She wore a mask, patched in black and white, that covered her whole face up to her forehead. At the eyes, it snaked off at either side. The white side rose in two points up to Heaven, while the black side pointed downwards at a pit. Her whole outfit- trousers and a strange top that moved into points like the tails on an old fashioned coat, but at the front- alternated between black and white, just as she herself could redesign the balance between light and darkness. Curly, sandy blonde hair fell around the edges of the mask, but beyond that, the only relief from black and white were her eyes, looking down at them without mercy, deep and green.

"Evening, gents." She muttered, surveying them. Her eyes came to rest on the youngest of their group in surprise. "A kid…?"

"So much more then that." He smirked. "But I guess you'll see soon." The kid pointed at one of the men, who had got to his feet, and had begun bolting up the street. Phantom, from up on his lamppost, jumped down and attempted to grab him, but the fall was too prolonged.

"Face!" He yelled.

"On him!" Faceless replied, and he bounded off, springing along cushions of air, after the man, who moved surprisingly fast.

"Hope he catches him…" Eclipse muttered, watching him go.

"Elli!" Phantom screamed. "Look out!"

She turned her attention back to the men. One had got up in the distraction, and was swinging a large carving knife at her face, about to stab it into the chinks of her mask that allowed her to see out. "Woah!" She yelled, acting on impulse through hundreds of gymnastics lessons and far too many fights like this. She back-flipped away, not even knocked of balance as her swinging feet caught the guy's stomach. For good measure, she sent a flash of light into his eyes that would blind him for the next hour or so and probably emotionally scar him for the rest of his life. But, by now, the rest of the men were on their feet, and each had at least two knives. They came towards her- and they were all wearing sunglasses now. They'd been expecting this fight. Eclipse backed away slightly, but it was no use. They advanced towards her, and she pulled the cover of darkness across like a curtain between them, so she could not see them and they could not see her; but she could hear their boots. They were still coming.

"Oh, crud… Reinforcements?"

"I'm always here." Phantom replied, instantly standing just in front of her. Smiling, Eclipse pulled back the curtain and placed them all in her artificial daylight.

"And here." Another Phantom said, over at the 9 o'clock position.

"And over here…" A third Phantom said, at the bottom of the circle.

The men looked around them anxiously. Around them, there must have been twenty or twenty-five versions of the hero, all smirking quite happily. The only way to win was to take out the original, but which one was he…?

One of the men decided to strike. He held his knife before him like a very short sword, and ran for the Phantom before him. He moved so fast he could have been floating himself, but he still tumbled straight through the guy and ended up rolling onto the hard, gritty stone of the street, splitting his lip on impact. As he fell, the knife had curled around, putting a graze across his stomach. The man groaned in pain, and Phantom- all of him- smiled.

"Who else wants a go?" He asked, smiling.

As the men hesitated, Eclipse nodded at her comrade.

"Ta. I can handle it from here."

Their opponents suddenly found themselves blind, in a darkness so absolute that they could not tell if their eyes were open or shut, that they did not know their hand was before their face until they poked their evidently open eyes. Even as they yelled out, the darkness echoed, as though they were miles from anything or anyone. The darkness swallowed, greedily eating their words and screams, and soon, soon, it would swallow them to.

In the silent darkness, the men felt rather then saw the ropes around them, and felt rather then saw or heard the backs of their buddies pinned against theirs. There was no point fighting now, as one by one the knives were prised from their hands. They remained in the terrifying black, unable to tell how small or large it was, completely blind, other senses smothered. There was nothing to do but to wait, and shake.

Eclipse stepped calmly out of the bubble of darkness that the men were captive in, and dusted herself off. "See?" She said, triumphantly. "I _told _you it was a good idea to keep some rope handy!"

"Okay, okay, fine." Phantom sighed, reaching into the pocket of the long, dark coat he wore. "I'll phone the police."

Eclipse nodded, looking away down the street in the direction the runaway had gone. "I wonder if Faceless collared him yet…?"

Phantom shrugged as he waited for the phone to get through. "You know what he's like. He works better alone, I think. He'll be fine."

"He's so distant sometimes." Eclipse sighed. "Why won't he let anyone be his friend…?"

"It's the curse of the superhero." Phantom answered, grimly. "Never get close to anyone. Oh, hey, Chief. It's Phantom. We've got a couple more guys for you out here on Elm street, so come get them, okay?" he paused, suddenly getting a sour look on his face. He snorted. "Well, when you start doing your job, we won't have to. Just come get the guys, okay?" He hung up, looking annoyed. "Charming. I don't know why we bother sometimes…"

"The greater good." Eclipse answered softly. "We're out for the greater good."

"…You come out with such rubbish, sometimes." Phantom said, almost fondly. "You're just in it because it makes you feel cool."

"Well, that too…" Eclipse admitted, laughing sheepishly. Both turned at the sound of a siren. At least they moved fast. "Hey, looks like our job is done. Time to call it a night."

"Yeah…" Phantom agreed. "Unless you want to… um… go hang out somewhere?"

Behind her mask, she looked surprised, and both were glad of the covering over their red faces. But she nodded.

"Um… Okay."

They headed towards the park, and the rusty old swing sets, to sway and to get to know each other that little bit better, even if they could never truly know who the other was, behind their masks.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Faceless was not having anywhere near such a nice night. Not an inch or an iota of fun entered into it as he swooped along dark, cold streets, lit by dark, glaring, cold, streetlights, illuminating only cobbles and frost; and the barest edges of buildings. The man he was chasing knew this, and how to take advantage of it, seeking blind spots in the black, bleak cubbies and in blind spots of his birds-eye view. Faceless had been forced to descend some time ago, but had no chance of keeping up with the guy on foot. Still, he followed determinedly, blindly on; not really knowing where he was going, but soon the man slipped away. Frustrated, he reached inside his mask to unfold it where it had begun to curl up, and froze as he saw the man, looking nervous, concealing a knife, hurrying into a nearby building. It was tall and austere, and he could make out the sounds of a business party on its last legs. Indeed, as he watched, the man was forced to pass the first of the leaving guests on his way inside.

Faceless' heart began to pound. This was more then the usual petty thievery, this was someone with an intent to murder. He hesitated for a moment, remembering he had promised his sister not to do anything stupid, but it was only a moment. It was just one guy. He could handle it. And there was _surely _some security, and bodyguards and the like around here somewhere.

He hesitated no longer, and began swiftly climbing up through the air, trying to scout a good angle to leap in on a surprise attack.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The paper told him everything except what he really wanted to know. It told him the target's name- Seto Kaiba. It told him where to find him, the quickest way to kill him, the best time and place to do it and the best way to get out again; which was so considerate. But it did not tell him who this man was. It did not tell him what he was like as a person. It did not tell him what Kaiba had done that meant he deserved to die.

And, as he was to find out in a little while, it did not tell him that Seto Kaiba was just a child.

The building was just across the street, but it felt a world away from his comfort zone. He looked at it nervously, imagining he saw a figure, a phantom of death, flitting, running across its threshold and away. He was about to turn around, head for the nearest telephone box and call the police, but something stopped him.

He was remembering the eyes of the thugs as they issued their threats. They had been the pits of humanity, without mercy, without compassion; without a trace of anything that gave humankind a soul. He had no doubt they would follow through on their threats, and probably do so with a smile. He closed his eyes, trying to build his nerves. The place before him was just offices, anyway. Whoever this guy was, he'd be a fusty old business man, no life left to live. Tom was sorry. He was so sorry. But there was nothing he could do about it now except step out onto the street, and cross the road. He had to go forward. Always, inexorably, forward.

He passed a couple on their way out, and, mechanically, as though everything in the world was right, he wished them a good evening. They didn't reply, paying him as much attention as they did to the cobbles they walked over. And yet, Tom still felt as though there were eyes upon him, judging him, condemning him. He pushed the doubts aside. He had no choice.

The note had clear instructions on it. He was to wait where the stairs turned a corner, and, when they passed, get him. He had the knife hidden under his jacket, colder even then the night outside. He would cut straight across the throat; a quick death would be best, and it would not spill quite as much blood as a vertical slice would.

Something inside him was appalled at how calmly he was applying the physics of the slaughterhouse to this. Yes, it was just like killing a cow or a pig or a chicken. Just meat. He had to tell himself that.

Again, he felt appalled. How could he be so callous? This was a living, breathing person; not an animal. A person with family, with hopes, with dreams…

No. He couldn't think like that. If he thought that way, he wouldn't do it. It was a person who had to die. That was all.

Footsteps on the stairs. Lots of them. He tensed, wondering if this was him, but it turned out to be a body guard, in a pristine black tuxedo, he looked at him in suspicion before Tom dropped his gaze. Dismissing him as not being a potential threat, the bodyguard called up the stairs- although not turning around- and he spoke the words Tom was somehow expecting.

"All clear, Mr Kaiba."

"All this fussing, man!" A booming voice declared, as a man with eyes as cruel and heartless as those that sent Tom rounded the corner. The rest of his face was taken up with a large moustache, that you could tell never had to move to make way for a smile. Behind Kaiba came another heavy. Tom swallowed. Would he have to deal with the two bodyguards to…? How much was _too _much…?

"Seto!" The man shouted suddenly, and Tom hastily tried to cover up his surprise. "Hurry up, or I'll leave you here on this god forsaken Island and go back to Japan alone!" He sighed noisily, and continued on down the stairs, complaining in loud English, perhaps thinking the person he spoke of would not understand him. "That kid! I bring him all the way out here to see how real business is done, and the ungrateful brat just stands in a corner all night, moping, and speaking only to correct his betters…!" The voice drifted away, and for a second, the whole building was eerily silent. It set the mood perfectly as Seto rounded the corner, not looking happy at all, his face a mask. He could not have been much older than thirteen.

And Tom had to kill him.

"…Seto?" He checked, not wanting to get the wrong person. He might give people the wrong sausages from time to time, but he couldn't mix up something as important as this. Not something like this.

The boy turned, looking at him in suspicion, but said nothing. Biting his lip, Tom reached into his jacket.

"I… I have to…"

Seto began to move away, half-knowing what was under that jacket, and what purpose it served, and half curious. He couldn't help but hope this was someone to take him away, to get him out of here, to rescue him and his brother… But the hope had long since gone from him, replaced by a careful cynicism. He began to move towards the stairs, but not fast enough. The man pulled out a knife, and advanced towards Seto; backing him into a wall. Seto had no choice but to die.

Tom held the knife aloft, ready to do it, but his arm froze up. As the boy shut his eyes in preparation, he couldn't make himself do it. He swallowed again, knowing he had to convince himself, just like the first time he had slaughtered his own meat, he just had to bring the knife down and do it.

_Just do it, Tom. Just do it…_

"I…" He faltered, and, suddenly, the window by their side exploded inwards, and he found another kid suddenly jumping onto his back, sending him flat into the floor, the knife skittering away down the stairs. Another kid. That was the third one tonight. How ironic…

Tom did not struggle, did not fight, as Faceless pinned him down, holding him to the cold stairwell. He cried, at what he'd almost done; and what he would never have been able to do, even to save his wife and daughter. His cowardice had condemned them. But what could he have done? What was he supposed to do? He cried softly, silently; with a broken heart, and a broken soul. He had failed.

_I'm sorry…_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Another New Year's day, and here we are, doing exactly the same thing we did last year." Phantom commented, breath blowing out of his mouth in clouds of steam as he sent a couple of duplicates of himself out to pull practically comatose people up and off the streets. "Cleaning up after the drunkards."

"It's not pleasant." Faceless agreed, trying to keep the ones that were particularly paralytic- anyone who wasn't had long since stumbled home, leaving just these behind- breathing through a combination of basic first aid and his powers. One of the men groaned, and promptly vomited to one side. Luckily, it was not the side Faceless was kneeling on. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Oh… Lovely."

"It really puts you off drinking, doesn't it?" Eclipse agreed, dimming the light for those so hung-over they couldn't deal with it. "…Why do we do this every year, anyway? We're Superheroes, not… not… This isn't our job!"

"Time for a tea break?" Faceless asked, nodding as the first of the weary paramedic teams arrived on the threshold of the pub, tinged by the first light of the New Year. They'd been at it all night- besides an hour period between 11:30 and 12:30 where they had dashed home to see in the New Year with their families before they were missed. Now, it wasn't long until it was a sensible time to be up, and they would be expected to be in bed before that. Some sleep would be nice to…

"Defiantly." The other two agreed, and, silently, they headed towards their place. It wasn't a nice or particularly pleasant place. In fact, it was a fairly strange, dirty, and uncomfortable place. But it was a private place, on a rooftop of an old house, easy enough to climb onto, and it was special to them; even though all it had was some chipping tiles, a chimney, three cups, a packet of biscuits and a thermos flask.

They'd been here many times before.

Once the tea, stored there the previous night, had been poured, and the biscuits shared, the three sat down on the roof in a companionable silence; Faceless rolling up his cloth 'mask', although it was more like a balaclava, to eat; Eclipse struggling on through the hole in her stiff, black and white face piece. Phantom, meanwhile, whose mask only covered his eyes and the top of his head, chuckled at their difficulties. The tea warmed their hands and stomachs after the long night, and they found themselves yawning into the delicious smelling steam that trailed from the cups.

"We'd better get home." Phantom said, slurping down the last of his cup. He picked up the empty flask. "It's my turn to refill this, yeah?"

"As long as you don't make coffee again." Eclipse answered. "Coffee is just… bleah…"

"Well, next time _I_ do it, I'll make some hot chocolate." Faceless promised. "Just for variety, you know…" He paused slightly, swallowing. "Guys… I need to tell you something, but I'd like to do it… Face to face. Would you be willing to meet me?"

"I guess…" Eclipse said, curiously but immediately. Phantom gave a grunt which may or may not have been affirmation, and that was probably the intention of it.

"Okay…" He said, slowly. "Then… Would you meet me on Saturday? In the café on the high street, at three o'clock. I'll… be reading a paper, or something. There won't be many boys our age doing that, right?"

"Got it." Eclipse said, simply. Her line of work meant she was well used to secrets. She stood up, stretching. "I can't _wait _to get out of these work clothes! It's time to go and sleep in this evening, people! What a way to start the year…"

Faceless made no reply. It had happened again- he should have known better then to get the Monster World game out. And now, he had to wonder if this year would be any better then the last.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Miller, 39, was found guilty yesterday in the Magistrate's court of conspiracy and intent to commit murder. He was sentenced, along with his accomplices, to five years, without bail. Many consider this sentence too lenient. The victim and his father, Japanese weapon manufacturer Gozaburo Kaiba, were not in attendance although the following statement was released…_

Ryou sighed, folding the newspaper up. He didn't want to read any of this. And it didn't look like anyone was going to come. He glanced around at the busy café, with it's cheery yellow walls and cosy red checked curtains, but didn't see anyone that looked likely. He bit forlornly into the Bakewell tart, figuring he may just as well eat it and go home. He had to pack, after all.

He couldn't help but feel so down. They'd been here six months, almost twice as long as any other place, and it had felt so _right_… but his curse had struck again. It was time to move on, and leave those that were behind in the shadows of his memory.

"May I please sit here?" A boy inquired, politely. Ryou looked up, surprised. He met deep, blue eyes, looking firmly back at him, not hiding their curiosity. His black hair stood in flattened spikes, looking as though he had just taken off a bicycle helmet, or a cap. Or a mask.

"Certainly."

"Good!" He said, sinking gratefully into one of the seats. Then, he looked at Ryou, a little suspiciously. "You weren't expecting anyone, were you?"

"I was, but I'm not sure they'll recognise me." Ryou answered, smiling- yes, he recognised the voice. His companion smiled too, leaning in and lowering his voice.

"Sorry I'm late, mate; I got a bit caught up with a skirmish in a shopping centre." He tapped his nose, chuckling. Ryou nodded, and the boy- Phantom- leaned back to examine him.

"So, it was hair you had hidden under that mask." He commented, quietly. "I wasn't sure if that was it or if you just had a deformed, abnormally large head."

Ryou laughed, and then nodded again. "Thanks for coming."

He shrugged. "I just want to know what this is all about. Any sign of Elli?"

"Right here, although I wish you wouldn't call me 'Elli'…" An Irish, sunny, immediately recognisable, voice called from behind him. She slumped into the seat next to Phantom, examining Ryou. Then she sighed. "Great. He's cuter then _I _am!"

"Um…" Ryou said, sheepishly.

"I wouldn't say that." Phantom commented, looking the newcomer up and down.

"…Really?" She asked, surprised. "I mean, I always thought I… Never mind."

"Thanks for coming." Ryou said again, awkward and suddenly formal. "I have to tell you something…"

"Well, there better be a good reason we've all come out in the open." The other boy commented, folding his arms, but not in an intimidating manner.

Ryou nodded once again. "I… I'm afraid I'm leaving town."

"What!" The girl cried, swapping looks with Phantom.

"I'm sorry…" Ryou said, uselessly. "I've loved working with you both. But there's been… I have to go. Tomorrow."

"That's a bit sudden! What about that Crime boss!" The boy cried, but then he sighed. "Well, whatever. We worked together for years before you came along. I'm sure we can manage again."

"I know you can." Ryou smiled. "I wasn't much help…"

"Don't say that!" She told him, fiercely. "It's been a pleasure working with you."

"Likewise." Ryou answered, accepting the offered hand and shaking it. He did the same with Phantom's true self. "But I wanted to come without masks, because I wanted you to know who I am. My name is Ryou."

"Sophie." The girl informed him, easily.

"Ian."

"Thank you." Ryou said, sincerely. There was no greater gift to be given by someone who survived on their secrets then their true name. "…Good bye."

The three split up, for the last time.

The three split up, for the last time as they currently were. The next time they met would be some years later, and none of them would be the same.

But that's another Superhero Story.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Prison did not suit Tom. He didn't like the other men and the food was atrocious. Gradually, he drew further away, further into himself, his body going through the mechanical schedule of day to day life. He had not seen his family before coming here, but there was still the hope that they would be waiting for him when he came out.

There was hope, at first.

The whole time he was in prison, he only had one visitor. A man. One of the gang. One that had evaded Eclipse and Phantom. One that Faceless had mistaken Tom himself for. The one that should have been in here. The one who had killed, in cold blood; who had felt the Miller's blood running warm over his fingers as he had slit their throats and left them to die alone, believing their husband or father to be a murderer. And he was smiling the whole time as he told Tom this, as he said, so very casually: "Of course, you failed, so I did have to take compensation…"

Life was even more mechanical after that. He just wanted to get out of here, and to start again. He felt ill. He felt as though his soul had been ripped from him. He could hear them, the voices of the dead, inside his mind. Crying, screaming, begging, and asking why he didn't come. Why didn't he come?

And, as his visitor had said- "How lucky I am Faceless was tied up filing a police report. He might have stopped me otherwise."

There was no chance of Tom's innocence being proved. No chance that Faceless would get his come uppance, not until Tom got out of here. He behaved well, and soon, found himself working in the prison library. It was a job that got him out of all the other routines, and out of socialising; beyond dishing out books to those that were not allowed to leave their cells. It also gave him internet access, and years of time.

He knew how to use it.

Opening Google, he simply typed 'Faceless'.

Slowly, slowly, cyberspace opened up before him; and gradually, over time, he traced where Faceless had appeared over the years, and, eventually, found out those who had moved to those places, found a time scale that fit. It took him almost three years, but eventually, a curiosity that had become an obsession bore fruit. He found a name. Ryou Bakura.

And yet, the name itself seemed to have it's own small claim on the net, within school forums and blogs, going back years. He seemed to be a blight, a curse; sending people into mysterious comas.

The only way to break a curse is to destroy the cause of it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Tom walked out of the gates without looking back. He had not served anywhere near the full term of his sentence, but a miracle had happened. Those hero kids, although not the one he hated, had finally bought down the crime boss, and, to gain a more lenient sentence, he had betrayed his followers without remorse. One of the men had been proven to be the _real _final member of that gang, the one who had killed his wife and child, and Tom had been let out. He could have gone to court and demanded compensation, but he never wanted to see a courtroom ever again. Justice had been served to the killer of his wife and child, and that's all that mattered to him now. Justice had been served.

But still… That Faceless. It had all been his fault. If it had not been for Faceless, now he was out of prison, he would have had someone to go back to. He would have had a home to go back to, a family, a life. But, because of that punk kid playing the hero, he had nothing. No-one.

Tom shook his head fiercely. He had to stop it. Faceless- Ryou Bakura- had become his obsession all the time in prison, it wasn't healthy. He had to stop blaming him, try to understand that the guy had done his best, but he couldn't convince himself of it. As he walked down the streets, everywhere reminded him of Faceless, whispers of hatred at the edge of his mind. He had to leave. He couldn't stay here, he'd go crazy. He had to get away from Faceless, or he would do something that would send him right back to prison. He had to get away.

Tom did not return to his shop. No doubt it had been seized by the authorities by now anyway. He could never go back, nor to some parallel world on the left or right where this never happened. All ways of escape were blocked; the only way he could go was forward. So he went.

Forward, along Elm street, a turn to the left. Down Hayden Lane, onto the Colchester road. The second turn off to the right. Up Dugmore Grove. And there it was. A train station. He placed his hand against the cold glass, reminded for a moment of his time inside, and then pushed the door open. He marched straight over to the map of the train routes, and scanned over it for a second, looking for the furthest point that this railway could take him. That's where he would go, and then perhaps another train after that. He went over, and brought the ticket; taking a good chunk from the meagre amount he had now, and went down to the platform.

All was still as he and the other passengers waited. Not a thing stirred, as the area around him hung grimly onto the last page of the book, not wanting to be written out just yet. But then the train arrived, and Tom got on it; leaving one, sad, story behind in favour of a new beginning. A new story. A new life.

But the old wasn't done with him yet. The book had a few chapters left yet.

Here, again, was Faceless. Haunting him, as did the ghosts of his wife and daughter. How could he put them at rest? How could he put them at peace?

It was Faceless. It was all Faceless. Faceless had to go.

Tom knew who Faceless was. He knew who he was each and every day, as he heard about his latest exploit on the television or radio, as he opened his newspaper, and at night, as he dreamt of his tortured, dead, family. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand it. If Faceless was going to follow him like a shadow, always just behind him, until the day he too was stone and cold… He'd have to make sure Faceless died first. Tom had to be free, had to avenge those he loved. He had to. He had to do it. People would understand that he simply had to do it. They'd understand. Just because they hadn't before… they'd understand. If they'd ever lost anyone close to them, they'd understand. His wife still spoke to him, inside his head. No-one else could hear her, but it didn't matter. He had to stop Faceless before he got anyone else killed. Yes, he had to make sure no-one else was hurt by this strange boy. He would be the hero, this time. He was doing nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all.

A simple look in the Yellow Pages told him the number he needed for the Bakura household. But he didn't want to speak to Faceless, he wanted to make sure Faceless never spoke again. What he wanted was the address.

The family hadn't been living there long. They never lived anywhere for very long. So they wouldn't have had time to decorate yet- he wouldn't be ruining anything. He'd just be getting rid of a menace to society.

He was so certain in his belief that his resolution did not waver for a moment, even as the flame of the match danced about in the air, waxing and waning. He did not hesitate as it fell, tumbling gracefully, into the petrol poured about the small, spare room he'd already managed to break into. The petrol went up nicely, and from there, the fire could work alone. Tom walked away. He'd only just become a free man. He didn't want those malicious police men locking him up again.

_Free…_

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"_But… well, I was out, and when I got home, the fire fighters were putting out the last of the blaze."_

Tom found he could almost, almost, be himself if he never thought about anything. If he just… existed… without thinking about the dead- whether he had killed them himself or if they had been taken spitefully from him. If he didn't think about it, he didn't have to face it. He had avenged them, hadn't he? So why did it still hurt to think about? Why wouldn't they go away, out of his mind, out of his dreams? Why did they still haunt him? What did they want him to do?

"_I saw my mother's body being lifted out of the wreckage of the stairs. She was dead before they even got her into the ambulance."_

He couldn't get away from them, even in his sleep. His wife and his daughter, who he loved. Faceless, who he hated so much. But they were all dead. They were dead. Why wouldn't they just leave him alone? Did they want him to join them…?

But that was not the answer. No. He found out what the real reason was.

Faceless, the little devil, was somehow still alive. That confirmed it. He should have died, but he did not. He wasn't human; he was some sort of monster with monstrous powers, and Tom was the only one that knew it. He had to get rid of the kid once and for all. For his family. For mankind.

_"She was gone, and our house had gone, and Amane was gone…"_

A short bulletin on the news said about a new hero appearing in some far-distant corner of Japan, the reporters' stupidly large smiles widening as they chuckled about where England's own heroes had gone- Faceless had disappeared, and shortly after, so had Eclipse and Phantom. Gradually, even all the lesser known heroes were fading away, or were reluctant to come out in the open. Indeed, this 'Masquerade' over in Japan was the first Superhero to come out into the open for quite some time. But Tom knew better. Somehow, he just _knew _it was Faceless in a different disguise. He was up to his old tricks again, this time on a whole other continent.

Well, Tom would soon put a stop to that. If it would finally bring him peace, he'd do anything. Anything at all.

_ "And I just ran away. I didn't know what else to do."_

The fire hadn't killed him before. He'd need something even more elaborate. Perhaps the only way to get to him would be through those around him, just as he'd done to Tom. Perhaps he could find an ally, someone else who saw through the disguise, who hated him, that would lead him to the villain's loved ones. Perhaps to defeat him physically, he would need to first defeat his heart. Yes, that was it. Burn everyone and everything close to him. Burn it all, send him right into Hell where he belonged, in a pyre burning all his sins. But a normal person like him wouldn't be able to do it. He'd need to become a Superhero to combat him. He could do that easily enough. He had plenty of money, especially if he sold his house. Money could buy anything- even something to fight and defeat superpowers. All he needed was a name that would kindle the fire of pain and fear into every evil doer that heard it; one evil doer in particular.

Faceless _had _to be afraid of fire after the blaze Tom had made at his house. He had to be. So he would use it against him now. He would use fire.

And he would be called The Pyromaniac.

It was time to go to Japan and finish what the hero had started.

_"If they were that close to you, you can't just wipe them out of your life. People that are close to you _change_ your life. You can't just ignore them after they're gone anymore then you would when they were alive. The only way they're still here is through _you, _and your memories." _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_The Tom Miller case. One of my biggest blunders._

_I know in my head that there was no way I could have known he was innocent. No way I could have known what he said in court _wasn't_ a lie- that was the Magistrate's job. And yet, every time I think of it, I want to cry. I condemned that poor man, and his family. They were murdered in cold blood, thinking their husband and father was a guilty man. I hope they didn't believe it. I hope they never stopped trusting him, but I don't know if that's the case. _

_This is why I never take anyone to the Police. My job is merely to assist, not to judge. I understand what it feels like to lose your home and family. I know the pain of it. And I also know now that, no matter how guilty someone looks, it's not my place at all to judge. Miller was standing over Kaiba with a knife, and yet, he was innocent. He wasn't going to do it. He was never intending to do it. He_ couldn't_ do it._

_A good man went to jail because he couldn't do it, and hesitated instead of getting away._

_Still, how odd it was that it was Kaiba, of all people, that he was after. How odd that, some years later, he would play such a role in more of our adventures. I wonder if he remembers that day, if he's realised it's me- well, Masquerade. I wonder if that's why he's out to get me? It wouldn't surprise me. I saved him that day, but I bet he doesn't want to know. If he can prove to the world that I'm a fake, he can finally prove it to himself._

_But none of that matters right now. I have bigger problems._

_I'll find you, Amane. I swear it. I won't lose my sister again._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: There. We have officially hit rock bottom of how nasty this fic is going to get, I promise. But, just to straighten any discrepancies out, here is everything that's happened so far in a chronological order:

1. Ryou and Amane, at the time they lived in the house near Penny and Jay.

2. Ryou gets the Mill. Ring, Uh-oh!

3. The Monster World game that gets Jay.

4. The Bakuras move around the country as, in each place, more people go into comas. Around this time, Ryou discovers his powers and takes on the persona of Faceless.

5. In one such place, Faceless meets and works with Eclipse and Phantom.

6. The events of this chapter.

7. Tom in jail as Ryou continues to move around.

8. Tom burns the house the Bakuras are living in at that point.

9. Ryou goes to Japan, vowing not to be a hero anymore, as all the series take place.

10. The fic as it began all the way back in chapter one!

There. I hope that cleared up any confusion. _(Cough_SCOOBY!_Cough) _Now, it's time for rhetorical questions, and also time for _Extras, _so let's make this quick! Just what will the Pyromaniac do now? Will Ryou be able to save Amane, or will Seto get in the way? What will Penny decide as she struggles with right and wrong? And who else loses a home, health, and maybe even a life…? I'll update as soon as possible with **A Superhero Story Chapter Ten- A Hostage**!


	11. A Hostage

A/N: Well, here we are again- and it's the beginning of the end! Seriously! When I was planning, I decided to stick to, at a very rough level, to a 5 beginning, 5 middle, 5 end type format. And so, we arrive at the beginning of the end- or the end of the middle, depending on how you look at things. Well, whatever. I'm afraid this is a bit of a talky-talky chapter, and because I've only ever been able to write a little at a time, it feels really disjointed. The descriptions aren't as good as they could be, and neither the dialogue. Meh. To me, it feels a bit… listless. However, I guess you'll have to judge for yourselves! One more thing- I noticed shortly after I posted chapter 9 that I had written it's title in the drop down as 'A Hostage' instead of 'An Innocent'. It's fixed now, but my apologies for the error. Heh…

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, a donkey, or a cardboard boat.

Chapter Ten- A Hostage

_"Amane… Amane…" _The voice was whispered, strained, and harsh like the bitter winds of winter. It came from far away, the ghost of a voice, calling to her, stretching it's icy tendrils out to catch her as she pulled away. _"Amane!" _

All at once, the voice became fire, singeing her hair and skin, and the edge of her mind. It rippled out all around her, there was no way to escape. She could see other people running into the flames, and burning like the guy on bonfire night, skin crackling and popping. But the fire didn't want them. It wanted her.

_"Amane… please! Amane, come on!"_

Now, the voice had carried her into darkness so absolute that it seemed to have swallowed the light and become stronger from it. She ran helplessly from the voice, trying to get away. And then, before her, there was light; muted only by the silhouette standing within it. He called to her too.

"Amane, this way! You can do it, come on!"

She ran towards him, but didn't seem to be getting anywhere. The voice, the friendly, lilting, laughing voice was one she knew. But it wasn't Ryou. She wasn't sure who it was, but it made her feel safe, secure, and she just wanted to reach it.

"Amane, please, hurry!"

_"Amane! Amane! _Amane!"

The voice faded from its threatening tones into hushed pleading and desperation. As she dragged her eyes open, feeling like a diver surfacing from a vat of treacle, Amane placed it as Penelope's. She looked straight ahead, and saw the girl squatting before her, but her vision was blurred around the edges, as she couldn't quite discard the last throws of sleep. Her head felt so heavy, and she felt terrible, as if only now emerging from the depths of a terrible and prolonged fever. Disorientated, she attempted to lick her lips and remove the stale taste that clung there, making her feel ill. Penelope, however, seemed relieved by this sudden state of consciousness.

"Thank goodness! But we don't have long, he'll be back soon and you'll be sedated again." Penelope gabbled. To Amane, it just sounded like a long, jumbled string of words, some she understood and some she didn't, her English slipping away from lack of practise, or by some other trigger in her sore, fuzzy, head. "I am so sorry, Amy… I know this is bad but it's all I can do… Your brother is a menace, and… well, Tom's as bad, but… I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I have to do it!"

Amane decided to test her voice. It seemed cracked and broken. "Why…?" She began, but the question was never finished, and remained unanswered as the commanding presence of the man entered the room. Penelope stood immediately, turning to face him, but he ignored her, bending down into Amane's blurred vision and smiling sardonically.

"Goodnight." He smiled, and she felt, numbly, something thin and sharp entering into her skin.

"Goodnight…" She muttered back, slipping away once again.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Amane!" Ryou called, running towards her. She didn't turn around, didn't acknowledge him. She couldn't hear him, he realised numbly. He continued to sprint his hardest toward her, full of the feeling something bad would happen if he didn't. It was an instinctual feeling, but, on some basic level, he _knew_. He called again. "Amane!"

She still didn't turn. She couldn't hear him. But he could hear her, and she was talking to someone; or perhaps to herself. She was asking where he was, why he wasn't there.

"Why isn't he coming?" She said, mournfully. "Why doesn't he come?"

Ryou tried to shout to her, tell her he _was _coming, that he was almost there, but his mouth seized up, and no sound would come out. The rest of his body followed until he jerked to a stop, his legs refusing to move. He crashed to the pavement, scratching his palms and knees, filling his mouth with blood from his bitten tongue. He managed to raise his head, but was unable to look away again, as he watched, eyes filled with horror, helpless.

A huge wave was swirling up in thick, heavy tendrils like a whirlpool; spreading out into a roaring sweep of water, as far too either side as Ryou could see. And yet, he was watching from beyond a wall, the water wouldn't reach him, but he didn't feel safe in his paralytic condition, not one bit, as he watched it finally tumble down over his sister. As it fell, it became a sweep of fire, burning impossibly brightly. It consumed his sister, burning away her gloves, and causing every inch of her skin to slowly blister up and scar. But she did not scream, her eyes revealed no physical pain, only deep, scarring, sadness.

"Ryou…" She whispered, and she saw him now as the fire at up to her waist. "Ryou, why won't you help me? Why won't you help…?"

The sight of Amane falling slowly into the bright light of the flames faded away into a swallowing darkness. It was cold, so cold, and Ryou shivered. This place shouldn't exist anymore. It didn't exist, except in his dreams. He had hoped, when the Ring was destroyed, that he would never have to come back here. And, for a time, since he had picked up his mask again, he had left it. But like so many fragments of his past, he couldn't shake it off.

_Not tonight… _He begged, silently, crouching down and drawing his legs up to him. _Please, not again tonight…_

But the darkness had no mercy, and his dreams faded into incoherent shadows, phantoms, terrifying fragmented images that brushed over his sickened mind but didn't stay long enough for him to truly assess their danger. He closed his eyes, covered his ears, but the darkness still pervaded into his mind. There was nothing to do but wait.

The voice came again. His Yami's voice, although admitting that the monster was in any way connected to him was a deplorable fact. He laughed as always, haunting him, blaming him; could not be ignored, could not be escaped…

"_Ryou…This is all your fault. If you hadn't been playing hero, this wouldn't have happened. And there's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing you can do. Nothing…"_

In his sleep, Ryou moaned, rolling over; but it was not enough to jolt him out of the darkness. He was trapped, forced to remain where he did not want to be for a small eternity longer. However, it did wake Yugi, an abnormally light sleeper, who rubbed his eyes wearily and looked down on his friend with sympathy.

As always, when crisis struck three days previously, the group had come through for each other time after time. Téa, the only member of the gang with room for two, had immediately offered a place to stay for Joey and Serenity. Luckily, due to the quick and hard work of the fire services, their home had not been damaged too severely, and the following day, they had been in to survey the damage. The vast majority of their belongings were salvageable, and they could have moved back in the day after the fire. However, they had used it as an excuse to finally get the place redecorated- with the insurance money- and were staying with Téa until the work was done. They only had one night to go, now. The pair seemed almost cheerful about it- the flat would be redecorated, and their father was still in hospital as the doctors attempted to deal with the adverse effects of his alcoholism, and wean him off the depressant. He wasn't that willing to begin with, but, slowly, he was starting to get there. He was expected to be released soon, although he would be required to join a support group. Something about how fast his spilt beer had burnt, something about the doctor's blunt statement- 'If you don't quit now, you will die'- had woken him up. Perhaps it was being sober for the first time in years. Things were looking up.

Ryou had not been so well off. His flat had been much more severely damaged, and so far, the structural damage had yet to be dealt with. It would be the end of the week before he could even get as far as going back to see what was salvageable, and some time after that before the place would be habitable again. The outer shell of the building was intact, but that was about it. He couldn't claim any money until the Police had worked out what had caused the fire to begin with, and with no witnesses from his flat, where the blaze had begun, they didn't have much to go on; although, cross-referencing with the other fires that day, they had begun to suspect arson.

None of that meant anything to Ryou. For the last three days, Amane had been missing, and although the Police were searching, they were getting no closer. Neither was he- he had no leads and no idea who had taken his sister. Of course, Yugi had no way of knowing any of this, but what he did know was that Ryou's nightmares had re-started. Ryou had been staying with them, his only possessions the clothes he stood in and the items that had been in his school bag. Between Tristan, and Joey's remaining clothing, they'd managed to find him something to wear; although it was all a little too big for him. His home and family had all been ripped brutally away once again, and the only small hope he had left to cling too was the friends that went with him. And yet, there were places they could not go with him. The deepest depths of the dark he stood in alone. Sometimes, he barely felt real. Sometimes, he felt the only thing anchoring him to this world was that occasional touch from someone who cared, and from someone he cared about. He was restless, wanting to do something, but not able to. All Ryou could do was wait and, on occasion, continue his secret work. He refused outright to be treated as a guest, working furiously around the house and in the shop, saying that he wanted to earn his keep. They hardly wanted to say no to him- it almost seemed he was trying to distract himself in the strangely empty days without school, and without much of a future. Besides, he was a wonderful cook.

Yugi rolled over the other way, looking at the clock, it stubbornly the small hours when the day was preparing itself for the slog itself. Ryou would be awake soon, but, not wanting to embarrass him, Yugi, as always, would feign sleep. And, right on cue, Ryou sat slowly up, panting slightly, and then let forward, running his hands through his hair. He staggered to his feet, and silently left the room.

He did not come back. Yugi grew concerned, and dragged himself out of the cabin bed he slept in. He tip-toed out into the dark hallway, and saw there was no-one in the bathroom. Worry mounting inside of him, he hurried on down the stairs, where he spotted the door to the back open. Quietly, he headed out into the back garden, wet grass compressing under his foot.

"Ryou…?"

The boy turned in surprise, silver hair in the silver moonlight. He too was barefooted and in borrowed pyjamas, but he didn't seem to notice the cold. The wind ruffled the baggy clothes slightly, the bottom of his trousers soaked by the dew forming on the grass.

"What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you that." Ryou responded, discretely hiding his mask behind his back, silently cursing about how close he'd come to being found out. For three days, he'd been confined to the ground, not flying at all, and now he longed for the freedom of the night sky. The stars, so endless, so infinite, seemed to only throw into the light how small their world was. The universe laughed down at their tiny perception of life and the things that matter the most, and yet encouraged him to look after what really mattered. He wanted to take the stars in his hands, but they remained in the sky. Unobtainable. Unobtainable, but the point lay not in the achievement but in the attempt. He had been brought up on the age old wisdom- 'Shoot for the moon- even if you miss, you'll land among the stars'.

But he did not intend to miss.

"Ryou?" Yugi said, uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

"Not really." Ryou answered, honestly. "But it's all we can do to keep moving. All things pass, if you can get through them."

"That's true."

"That doesn't mean we can't help them along, though." Ryou smirked, turning his face back into the moonlight, casting shadows across his face. "As soon as I can do something, I will."

"I know…" Yugi muttered, not sure what to say. "I know."

He wanted to offer help. But he didn't know what they- Ryou, or any of them- _could _do. He just hoped Ryou knew that. He hoped Ryou would get through this.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They were watching television, as there didn't seem to be much else to do. No school meant there was no homework, and no-one had arranged to meet up. Ryou wasn't in much of a mood for talking, at least initially, so, through lack of inspiration, Yugi had picked up the remote to see what he could find. Ryou had expected him to skip straight to some kind of game or card channel, but, instead, he moved to the travel section. One of Tenzo Ayako's programmes was on, this time, he was up in the Alps. This man had been travelling the globe for the best part of twenty-five years, since he was a young man, and making his programmes and writing his books for at least ten of them. He'd been to every point of the compass, every point of the globe, been to places most people only dreamed of. He had opened the world to hundreds of answers and thousands of questions, and brought to the attention of the general public how large the gap between cultures really were.

At least, that's what Yugi eagerly explained to Ryou, who had never really been a big fan of Ayako's. He'd certainly never watched a full programme of his before; unless when he was a guest panellist on a satirical news quiz counted. Yugi's enthusiasm quite surprised him, and he said so.

"I didn't think you were very into travel." He commented, quietly. He'd barely spoken the last few days, and so his voice held a dull, slightly gravely monotone that he tried to shake off.

"I'm not." Yugi laughed. "Just this guy."

"Why him?" Ryou asked, innocent.

"He's my dad."

This statement, said so simply, obviously did not carry the same sense of revelation for Yugi as it did for Ryou. Laughing at his surprised expression, Yugi continued.

"I'm an illegitimate child! Are you shocked?"

Ryou looked at him, shaking his head. "No, just confused…"

Yugi turned his face back to the television, as he explained easily. He didn't seem to have a problem with what he was saying at all.

"Oh. Well, it's a very simple story; really- and a bit of a pathetic one at that. My dad came to Japan, on a year's break, once upon a time, and met my mom. He wanted to marry her, but she didn't feel she could trap him here- or that she could travel with him. She didn't want him to give up the lifestyle he loved for her, you see. He wanted to marry her anyway, saying they could just be separated, but she refused. She told him she loved him too much for that. And then… 'magic happened'… and she got pregnant. Of course, if she told him, he would have insisted on staying with her after all…"

Ryou gazed at the man on the screen. Yugi obviously took after his mother in looks, but something about the way Ayako smiled down at the small Pilipino child clambering onto his lap and waving at the camera made him see Yugi in him. "He seems to be a nice chap."

"He is!" Yugi agreed, readily. "He doesn't know I exist, though."

Startled, Ryou swung about to gawp at Yugi. "You must be joking. That's just too…"

"Dramatic?"

"No… sad."

Yugi shrugged. "Well, I met him at a book signing once, if that counts… Anyways, nope, my mom never told him. Of course, she wasn't up to much either. She couldn't cope with a child, so moved in with Grandpa for his help. She gave me my name- and her surname- and I'm sure she did her best… but when I was ten, she left. I guess she wanted to have her own life again- 'Find herself'. At least, that's what I _think _she wanted. She used to write every week, but now it's every few months… Not that she ever says anything interesting, just that she loves me and she'll come home soon." He snorted a little, half giggling. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"…How can you say that?" Ryou wondered aloud. "How can you say that with a smile on your face?"

"Because it's not what's important." Yugi answered, suddenly serious again. "I mean… Sure, it would be _nice, _sometimes, and once I _was _lonely… but Gramps takes care of me, and then I have all you guys. I'm not lonely anymore."

"Really?" Ryou asked. "Even without your… Yami?"

Yugi nodded firmly. "I miss him, sometimes. But I'm not lonely. I have everything I need."

Ryou stayed silent for some time, so much so that Yugi didn't think he was going to answer at all. However, eventually, he replied.

"I can't believe that. I wish I could, but I… Without you guys, I don't know how I would have carried on living; that I'll admit. You've done a lot for me, I know. But… it's not the same. I finally found Amane, and now she's gone again. And as for my parents… Well, you know what they say." He smiled slightly, the first smile Yugi had seen him wear for days. He couldn't help but prompt the issue.

"No. What do they say?"

"To lose on parent is tragic." Ryou commented, slowly. "To lose two is just carelessness."

Yugi laughed. "Too true. I-"

Grandpa pushed the door to the room open, glancing to the screen and snorting dismissively.

"Watching your dad again?" He sighed. "He's a great man, but his shows are as boring as reading the phonebook. Change channel." He settled himself down on the settee next to his grandson. Ryou shook his head in wonder.

"You are an amazing person, Yugi…" He muttered. "In so many ways. I don't know how you can say all this so easily, with a smile on your face…"

"Can't miss what you never had." Yugi pointed out, cheerfully. Worried about his friend, his cheeriness was false, trying to pull Ryou out of his stupor. It seemed to be working somewhat…

"I miss my father." Ryou admitted, quietly.

"Nice chap."

The two teens turned to look at Grandpa in surprise, having not suspected such a statement.

"Does that mean you met Ryou's father, Grandpa?" Yugi asked curiously. The old man nodded.

"Didn't I ever tell you? I didn't know him very well; but, yes, we _did _meet on a few occasions… The first is always the one I recall, though. This wasn't all that long after my retirement from professional gaming, but it was still a long time before Bandit Keith claimed that glory, and you boys and Kaiba hadn't even been born yet. In other words, there was somewhat a _void _of gamers, and it was hard to find anyone with a real passion. However, your father, Ryou… He happened to be one of them."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Mumbles of discontent rose from the audience, overflows of barely suppressed sceptically and cynicism. Games had no significance to the affairs of man, never had, and never would. They were a leisurely pass-time, to while away the hours between more important and life-changing matters. This theory was beyond controversial- it was downright idiotic._

_Or so said the idiot._

_Solomon Motto, not yet a grandfather, but not as young and enthusiastic as he had once been, bore this with impatience. The guest speaker at this particular history lecture, he, at least, had some respect for what the professor- one Professor Hawkins, who would not rise to fame for his discovery of Atlantis for many years yet- at the lectern was saying. He also felt quite depressed about the future of their field. He had yet to find a young, talented gamer that had true passion in his heart and the imagination to break boundaries. He remembered well back to that terrifying, proud day when he had ventured into the deadly labyrinth of the Pharaoh's tomb, the intricate rules of a game that had bought him fame both as a gamer and an archaeologist, and a strange puzzle. If he couldn't solve it, he decided, he would sell it. But it _had _to be more then a game. He knew that. The problem was, other people didn't. And it didn't look like they were ready to believe him, either._

_He was invited to speak, and he strode to the front of the stage, intending to give them a piece of his mind. Then he saw the reception his words would receive. It was pointless; he had already been dismissed as an idiot or senile. After all, what would a gamer, his hair slowly turning grey, know about the historical significance of anything? He snorted to himself. Probably more then most. The Shadow Games… A term that came up again and again. But what were they, and how could they be played…?_

_Behind him, the Professor coughed, and Solomon realised it was high time he actually said something. But, perhaps, a more active demonstration would get these kids- although, in truth, they were far too old for such a term- to sit up and take notice._

_"Right." He said, slowly. "How many of you know how to play checkers?" _

_The hall remained stubbornly silent. _

_"How many?" He roared again, and, doubtfully, a few hands were raised into the air._

_"Ludo?" Solomon checked. "Poker? Backgammon? Blackjack? Rummy? Hearts? How many of you have ever played a video game? Monopoly? Mouse Trap? Twister? Hide and Seek? Tig? Ro-Sham-Bo? Allee- or Akee, as some call it- 123? Charades? Stuck-in-the-mud? Sleeping Lions? Football? Rugby? Cricket, Tennis, Badminton?"_

_Every hand had been raised at least once, Solomon noted with satisfaction. He smirked._

_"Everyone in this room has played some sort of game at least once in their lifetime, and probably many more times than that. Every sport is a game. Everything you did as a child was a game. Trying to beat your personal bests is a kind of game. Games are part of everyday life. And yet, you dismiss them as having no significance? You are wrong. And please, anyone who would care to prove me wrong, step up. But be aware that we would be competing to win. And that, to, is a game."_

_Surprisingly, there were no takers._

_"No? Perhaps a different challenge then. Perhaps I can come out of retirement just this once to teach you a thing or two." His eyes twinkled._

_"Solomon…" Professor Hawkins began warily. Solomon waved his worries away, winking in a way that said 'There is a point to this'._

_"My game is a relatively new one, and yet, it is a world wide best seller- and I happen to be one of the world's top players. My game is Duel Monsters. Who among you will play me?"_

"Did you really speak like that?" Yugi interjected, appalled. "You sound like Kaiba!"

"I can't believe he hijacked an entire lecture and turned it into a duel…" Ryou muttered, half admiringly. "I guess you take after him, Yugi…"

"I wouldn't do something like that! Those poor students…"

"Excuse me." Grandpa put in, peeved at the interruption and the fact his dramatic interpretations had been rumbled. "Do you want to know the story goes or not?"

_The hall was silent for a while, but, just as Solomon was about to give up, a single man stood up. The youth, about nineteen or twenty, stood, a little shakily, and looked down at his feet. His hair hung to his shoulders, tied behind his head, a black, almost purple colour, and he shuffled a little uncomfortably. But when he spoke, it was with the confidence of conviction._

_"I believe that your theory has potential." He stated, simply. "And…Although I'm a new player, I would be honoured to duel you, Doctor Motto."_

_"Well then." Solomon smiled. "You'd better get up here…"_

_The man nodded, and hastened to comply. Hurrying down the steps of the lecture hall, he missed his footing, stumbled, and ended up crashing down the great majority of the way. He peeled his face off the floor, smiling sheepishly as the hall exploded into laughter._

_"At least it's faster than walking." He commented, laughing at himself._

Yugi was in stitches to. "I guess you take after your dad, Ryou!" He laughed.

"I…"

"No, he's right." Grandpa said, quietly. "You are very like him, Ryou, though there's a lot of him in Amane to. I guess you both got different parts, you could say…"

Ryou bit his lip at the mention of his sister, and looked down at the carpet. Yugi glanced up at his Grandfather. The story had been doing a fairly good job of distracting his depressed friend up till now, but… Grandpa hastily continued.

_The duel quickly got underway. The youth was obviously a beginner, but he knew his cards and his deck; and how to use them. His strategies were not particularly advanced or complicated, but the potential was there. Although he did not know it, the turn he played now would be his last._

_Gaia was on the field, probably the strongest monster in the rookie's deck. But, these were the rudimentary rules and, at this point in time, you were not allowed to attack life points directly; but you didn't have to pay tribute for summoning either. Behind him, the young man placed a face down card, but Solomon was fairly sure it was just for show. Either way, it didn't matter. Two cards later- Dust Tornado and the Summoned Skull- the life point counter ticked down 200 more points and hit 0._

_ The hall broke into spattered applause, each member there having been involved despite themselves. Gesturing for his opponent to stay put, who dubiously did so, Solomon strode back to the lectern, and spoke to the crowd, their noise immediately extinguished._

_"You all enjoyed that match. It's in your nature- contests are entertainment. Since the earliest ages of time, games have been found." He stated, simply. "Much of Roman life centred around coliseums. Chasing and hunting animals. I can kill you before you can kill me. I can win more votes then you." Solomon paused. "Every decision is a contest. Every contest is a game. Just because they're serious doesn't mean it's not a game of sorts, just because they become more civilised doesn't stop them being games. So if anyone here can tell me why the hypothesis that the Egyptians did the same is so completely unbelievable, I'd be glad to hear it." Silence reigned still. "Professor Hawkins." Solomon muttered. "Please continue with your lecture."_

"You certainly showed them…" Yugi said admiringly. "Did Professor Hawkins get anywhere?"

"I'm not sure." Grandpa admitted. "Back then, the idea of the Shadow Games was just that- an idea. We had speculation and theories, but very little evidence. It wasn't until much, much later that it would be proved correct- and even to this day, it isn't historically accepted that the games even existed. Most people haven't even heard of the Shadow Games."

"But I thought the hall was full of students. Surely one of them-"

Grandpa shrugged. "We didn't hang around to hear Arthur's concluding points. I left the hall, gesturing for the youth that had put his neck on the line to come with me. We ended up in a small café inside a supermarket, and that was where he told me his dreams and his name- Kiyoshi Bakura…"

_"England!" Kiyoshi declared passionately. "That's where I'm going!"_

_"England?" Solomon echoed in surprise. "You want to do archaeology in _England_?"_

_"It's a fascinating place!" Kiyoshi defended. "Somehow, that little island managed to conquer half the world at one point, and at some point or another, has been conquered _by_ half the world. It's almost, but not quite, in Europe; it was under the Romans, they built tons of castles, they have great cities and country areas, it has some of the largest tin and coal resources in the world, although the Prime Minister seems to be thinking of changing that; they control Northern Ireland and Scotland and Wales, they-"_

_"Alright." Solomon put in. "So you like England."_

_Kiyoshi laughed at his own obsession. "There's just so much… history!" he concluded. _

_"Ah, yes, but how much is there that they don't know already?" Solomon asked, wisely. "Not much money for an archaeologist on digs that don't find anything…"_

_"No." Kiyoshi agreed. "But I'll travel to other places to- England's just the beginning! Rome and Greece and Australia and Egypt…" He trailed off, eyes sparkling somewhat. "I must admit, your ideas of the Shadow Games intrigue me… If _anyone _would have been able to gain supernatural powers, it would have been the Egyptians."_

_"Just be careful." Solomon said quietly, thinking of the inscription on the side of the box containing the Puzzle he'd found. "The one who solves me shall gain the powers and knowledge of darkness…"_

_Kiyoshi blinked, understandably confused by the statement. Then he smiled, a smile that would be passed onto his son, and spoke once again. "Well, I'm not interested in any powers- it's just the knowledge _I'm_ after! Just you wait, Doctor Motto, some day I'll be good enough to have a controversial thesis of my own!"_

"It must be true that you can do anything if you put your mind to it," Grandpa chuckled. "Because Kiyoshi was as clumsy as anything, and although he certainly had the passion for archaeology, I'll admit I doubted him. I saw him only twice more, once when I was giving a talk and he came to watch. Back then, he was preparing to finally move to England. The second time was many years later, when _he _was giving a talk at Tokyo University. He spoke on the possibility of the Supernatural not only being real but quite natural after all, and, just like we had been all those years ago, he was laughed off. But he shrugged it away. He was already an archaeologist of some eminence, but this time all he could talk about was his family- his wife, and the twins she'd had a little over a year and a half ago. He was as happy a man as ever I'd seen, the only longing he had was for the past to reveal another secret to him, and he found the hunt as fulfilling as the success. I wished him the best of luck, and, after that, I never saw him again, although I often wondered- "Whatever happened to Kiyoshi…?"."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The television, which had been abandoned in the wake of the story, continued on in its invisible sequence, undeterred by the fact it was being ignored. Ayako's programme had finished, and the news had come on, but Grandpa was the only one who noticed it. He pre-empted what one of the local stories would be, and hastily sent the boys out on an errand to the shops. And so, it was only the two old eyes, that had seen so much in their time, that watched the brief report.

"Police in the Domino City district are investigating a recent outbreak of fires in and around the local high school. The high school was the first target, followed by the homes of two of the students. It is believed that the fires are somehow connected with the inquiries into the disappearance of two girls…"

Grandpa blinked. Two…? Photos appeared on the screen before him. One, although he had never met her, could easily be identified as Ryou's sister, as Kiyoshi's daughter. The other…

"Amane Bakura and Penelope Hightman, both students of Domino High, were reported missing shortly after the fires. The two girls were fast friends, their fellow students are adamant, however, that they would not run away from home. Both representatives from a pair of twins-"

Grandpa pressed the off button. That was quite enough of that. He rubbed his tired eyes, wandering out into the shop, where he had been certain he had heard someone moving about. No-one was there, and he sighed. Business was bad; but not as bad as the business that would shortly be affecting him beyond just the fact that he had a lodger.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Joey!" Serenity spluttered. "Where are you?"

He loomed through the smoke into her vision again. "There's no way to the door!" He choked. "It'll have to be the window!"

Téa struggled with the handle. "It won't open!" She screamed.

"It has to!" Joey yelled back, grimly, and, without another thought, slammed his fists into it with the inhuman strength that asserts itself in a crisis. The glass shattered, and he turned, using his cut and bleeding hands to assist his friend and his sister out of the ground floor window, smoke pouring out of them as the fire spread from the hall. They squatted, coughing and choking, in the front garden, sucking in the fresher air as if they had not had any for months. Téa rolled, staring in silent horror at the hallway of her home, flames jumping and leaping, throwing a party, inside it.

"I can't believe it happened again…" She whispered. "Another fire…"

Sirens took their place in the smoke filled air, a fire engine and an ambulance. They'd be there before the fire could really take grip and before Joey's wounded arms could cause him to bleed to death or get infected. That was some small mercy. Téa had to be grateful. But, as they were bundled into an ambulance, she couldn't help think how awful this was for her guests. And then, she decided she wanted to phone Yugi.

"Everything alright?" Ryou checked as the boy slowly hung up, slotting one of the tins they'd brought into the appropriate cupboard.

"No." Yugi answered, simply. "That was Téa. She says that her house burnt down to. She and Joey and Serenity are all on their way to hospital." He sighed worriedly. "This isn't right. Who could be doing this? What could they want…?"

Ryou said nothing, looking at him in shock. But it seemed obvious to him. He was what they wanted, and he'd gladly have given himself up, if only he could have done. But he had no idea where to even start. For now, all he could do was leave the shopping where it was, turn on his heel, and head for the door. He had to get to the hospital right now.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You guys should go through and see Joey." Serenity said, again. Yugi and Ryou were inside her small hospital room, and exchanged concerned glances. "Honestly! Téa and I are only being kept here in case of smoke inhalation, and I'll be moved into one of the wards in a minute- Joey's the one who not only managed to get burnt but also shred his arms up by punching through a window… I'm fine, please don't worry."

"Well…" Yugi began, sheepishly. "The thing is…"

"You don't want to leave me on my own?"

"Yes." Yugi admitted.

"I'm honestly absolutely super-duper fine." Serenity assured them. "But I don't know about Joey. Please?"

"Well, I would like to see how he is, but…"

"Here's a solution." Ryou put in, suddenly. "One of us stays here, and the other goes to see Joey. Simple."

Yugi nodded, and, a moment later, left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. He moved next door, to where he knew Joey was. The boy had an impressive amount of bandages around his arms, but, in true fashion, that was not his primary concern.

"Have you seen 'Ren?" He demanded the second Yugi walked in. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine." Yugi said innocently. "Ryou's with her."

Joey growled to himself. "Those two…" He grumbled.

"Joey… Can't you trust them just a little?" Yugi tried, shaking his head at Joey being so overprotective. "Ryou's not going to do anything, is he?"

"That's the problem!" Joey snapped, pain making him irritable. "Tristan and Duke bug me because she's not interested and they won't take a hint. Plus they'd do all sorts of… stuff… to her. Ryou bugs me because she _is _interested and he won't take a hint!"

Yugi, a little surprised, laughed. "I suppose that's true."

"Yeah, it is." Joey confirmed. "I'm telling you… She likes him- as much as I hate to say it- and he likes her… and _both _of them are too shy to do a thing about it!" He scowled. "I'd hate to see 'Ren dating _anyone_, I'll admit it- and if Ryou ever hurt her, he'd be dead before he had time to say 'Oh my!'- but I can't _stand_ the idea of her being unhappy because she thinks he doesn't like her! They're such _idiots_…"

"He's probably just scared of _you_." Yugi pointed out. "He'd be worried you'd pummel him, I suppose."

"Mmm…" Joey muttered, which, as intended, didn't mean anything.

"Although, I think Ryou's got rather a lot on his plate at the moment." Yugi stated, his voice hushed with sympathy. Joey nodded.

"Amane… I wonder where on Earth she could be…" And then his face hardened. "The second these bandages come off, Yugi, I'm going to find the guy who did it and give him the beating of a lifetime!"

Yugi remained silent, wondering just how bad the damage to Joey's skin was. His arms might have scars to bear forever, that no amount of stitching and cleaning could get rid of; so that all that could be done was to try and cover them up, hide them away, where the world would not see.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I'm honestly absolutely super-duper fine." Serenity assured them, again. "But I don't know about Joey. Please?"

"Well, I would like to see how he is, but…"

"Here's a solution." Ryou put in, suddenly, wanting to make life simple for them all. "One of us stays here, and the other goes to see Joey. Simple."

Yugi nodded, and, a moment later, left the room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Serenity sagged slightly in relief, falling back into the pillows and exhaling noisily.

"Now then." Ryou said quietly. "How 'fine' actually are you?"

"I'm a little tired…" Serenity admitted. "And… I'm a little scared… but otherwise, I'm alright. No harm done…"

"Are you sure?" Ryou checked again.

"Yes!" She insisted. "Goodness me, stop fussing! You're beginning to act like my mom!"

"I'm sorry…" Ryou mumbled, coming and sitting in the chair beside her bed. "I'm just worried about you."

Serenity turned vividly red, but he didn't notice. She was glad for a moment, and then concerned. He didn't seem to have been noticing much at all for days. She knew how worried all his friends were for him. Losing Amane had really hit him hard.

"And what about you?" She asked, gently. "How are you holding up?"

"I…" Ryou stammered, suddenly standing again. "I don't deserve your concern!" He looked down at the floor. "I don't deserve it." He repeated.

"Ryou…" She answered awkwardly. "Come on. Sit down. Talk to me."

He did so, slowly. "I… I failed you." He said, not looking at her. "And all the others."

"How?" She asked, smiling reassuringly. "How have you failed, Ryou?"

"I… I wanted to protect everyone. But I failed."

Serenity placed a hand over his, trying to comfort him.

"None of this is your fault, Ryou."

"You don't know that." He snapped, suddenly looking right up into her eyes. "Why do you think Amane was taken? Why do you think you were targeted? Someone is trying to rob me of everything precious to me."

Serenity bit her lip slightly. Now was not the time to ask him to elaborate on what his words were insinuating. "Ryou, I'm sure that's not true." She told him, firmly. "There was nothing you could do to prevent this- any of it. There was nothing you could do."

"Yes there was." He said, so quietly, she had to bring her face close to his just to hear the words. "There always was. But I wanted to protect people. I wanted to help people. Then it was too late. Too many lies, too much deceit, too many bad choices. There was something I could have done. I could have chosen differently…"

"Ryou!" Serenity said, sternly. "I'm telling you- it is _not _your fault! Stop beating yourself up! You didn't start the fires! You didn't kidnap Amane! You didn't provoke anyone to do such terrible things! It's _not _your fault! Please, Ryou… believe me… You couldn't have stopped it. Please, I can't stand seeing you like this…"

"It _is _my fault." Ryou insisted, breathing shallowly, turning his face away. "By trying to protect people, I'm only endangering those closest to me."

"That's not true." Serenity tried.

"It is." Ryou closed his eyes. "Serenity… I'm going to be honest with you."

He was tired of lies. He was so tired of it all.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Amane! Amane!" Penelope begged. "Please, wake up, hurry; I don't know how long he'll be gone!" She shook her friend fiercely, and, at last, the girl woke up, looking around blearily, but she seemed to be lucid this time. "Amane, are you alright?"

The girl blinked at her in confusion, looking slowly around them, and then back at her body, tied up in a corner. "Well, sure, I'm fine- apart from the fact I'm tied up! What the _hell _is going on here!"

Penelope sighed in relief. "The sedatives wore off…" She muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"Amane." Penelope said, simply. "I… I'm sorry… It's not you, it's your brother…"

"Ryou?" Amane asked, even more confused. "What's he got to do with the price of fish? And why haven't you untied me yet!" Penelope did not answer. Amane stared at her, horrified at the thoughts that were slowly trickling into her brain. "Oh, Penny… No, you didn't. Penny, tell me you haven't…" She trailed off, unsure of what she was actually trying to ask.

"I…" Penelope couldn't look at her. "Ryou's Masquerade, Amy. And… after what he did to Jay, I just can't believe…"

"He saved you!" Amane screamed at her. "He saved you! Twice!"

"I know!" Penelope shrieked back. "Don't you think I know! Don't you think I _wonder_! But… you can't see it, Amane, but there's something not quite… right. I couldn't let him hurt other families like he hurt mine."

"You don't believe that." Amane whispered. "Penny, tell me you don't believe that…"

"I just don't know anymore…" Penelope sobbed. "I mean, this guy, he seems to be almost as bad… He's setting fire to the city, and kidnapping you…He…" She choked, but then continued with conviction. "But it's just to lure Ryou out, I promise you. Once we stop Masquerade, that'll be it, I swear. His family were…"

"Penelope…" Amane begged again. "Please, you have to believe me, Ryou's _not_ a bad person. He makes mistakes, but who doesn't? He isn't a bad person. Just untie me, and let's get out of here…"

"He hurt Jay." Penelope said, softly. "Amane, my brother's a _vegetable _because of him. We came all the way out to Japan for the world's best doctors, and even they can't fix him. Because of Ryou. I can never forgive him. I can't…"

"It wasn't Ryou's fault!" Amane defended fiercely. "Penny, the Millennium Ring, it controlled him! I find it hard to believe to, but it-"

"Shut up." Penelope shook slightly. "Stop it. Stop it."

"But-"

"Oh, is she awake?" A new voice said cheerily. "I wasn't expecting you to so soon, Miss Bakura!" He walked in, grinning happily. "I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, my dear… alas, the causalities of war. So young nowadays… Whatever is the world coming to…?"

"Are… Are you going to sedate her again?" Penelope asked, cautiously, interrupting the man's mumbling to himself.

"Ah…" He considered, head on one side, as though deciding something as uninteresting as what to have for lunch. "No, I don't think there's much point now. We're almost finished here." He smiled again. "I really _must _thank you for your information, Penelope. It's been simply invaluable." He busied himself with taking off his coat, short, stubby fingers working the buttons out of their bearings. "Things are looking better then ever. Fires have been set at all the houses of his little friends, and it should only be a little while now before he comes across the calling card. Then we just have to wait for him to come, and…" He gestured at Amane. "He can see how it feels to have his family murdered before him."

Penelope recoiled in horror, and stared at Amane, who met her gaze levelly.

"Kill her…?"

"Yes." He replied, as if surprised at the question. "That's what he did to my family, after all." He moved off, whistling, going up a staircase in the left hand corner. Penelope continued to stare at Amane.

"I didn't know…" She stated, in shock. "I thought he just wanted to _stop _him, not kill him, not kill you…" She shut her eyes tight, breathing deeply, for the longest time. When she spoke next, her voice shook, and it was clear she wasn't entirely sure of what she was doing.

"Amane…" She said slowly, shakily. "Swear it. This 'Ring' thing. Swear to me it's the truth. Swear you're telling the truth."

"I swear it." Amane said without hesitation. "I swear it on my relation as a twin. I swear it."

"I…"

"Penelope!" Tom bellowed down from upstairs. "I'm putting the kettle on! Fancy a cuppa?"

"I have to go." Penelope said, hurriedly. "I'll get you out of this. I'll think of something. Just hold on…" She turned and ran.

Amane was left entirely alone.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto's eyes scanned idly over the screen again, his mind looking beyond the world, linking and cross-referencing with the amazing speed that came to every successful entrepreneur in time. The page he read was about the recent increase in fires in the area. He had also been reading about the disappearance of the two girls, and, oddly, Masquerade's silence on the subject. He hadn't been seen for days now. But the person had not got what they were after, because the fires were still burning.He had no doubt that's what the fires were. A way to get to Masquerade, trying to- quite literally- smoke him out. Still, there was the fact that all the homes so far had been those friends of Yugi's. There was a chance it was just another weirdo on his rival's tail. Seto snorted. If that was the case, he didn't give a toss. But Masquerade… He was another matter entirely. These people were running around playing at being Superheroes, and he didn't like it one bit. He didn't like the idea of people's talents being put down to 'They just can'. No-one 'just can' do _anything_. Seto had worked long and hard and schemed his way to the top, to get what he had, to be what he was. Anyone who said he had it because he had 'natural ability' would quickly find themselves on the receiving end of his temper. Seto had made himself what he was, and no powers or magic had put him there. Powers and magic were what the deluded and dependant hoped for, so that they didn't have to do anything to achieve what they wanted; and if they _didn't _get it, they could simply say 'It's not my fault, I just don't have this skill or that talent'. It sickened Seto, all this reliance on heroes and amazement at what they could do. He would show Masquerade to the world as a fake.

And he would do it soon. This was getting ridiculous. He sighed ruefully, the only sign of the stress he felt. He had to unmask Masquerade, and he only knew one way to do it. He had no choice.

But this would be the absolute last time.

Freedom, and the pursuit of it. That was the name of the game.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_It's strange, how I'm afraid of water and not fire. But water is unpredictable, incomprehensible. Fire is straight forward, simple, primitive. Its mood is defined by the conditions it's surrounded in, and you know what it intends to do. It will burn and burn until it burns itself out. Water is not so easy to understand. It can be a friend one minute and a foe the next. You never know which mood it's in, there's no way to tell; and it can change in an instant. Fire is a lot more basic. It has hurt me many a time, but I understand it. It is out to burn and kill and hurt, and that's all. But by understanding it, we can control it. We can create it from gas and heat and sparks and whatever else, we can use it, cook food, get it to the heat we require. Water we cannot. We can force it through pipes, perhaps, but it will always find a way out through even the most tiny crack or crevice. Perhaps I am just afraid of unpredictability. Perhaps I am afraid of the unknown. Perhaps I am afraid because I just don't know what will happen next; to me, to Amane, to Serenity; to any of us._

_I am afraid, and I am tired._

_I'm so tired of all of this. I thought my life was back on its feet, and I've fallen face down again; with no choice to crawl on. I'm sick of the lies. I didn't tell them because I thought it would protect them, but it did not. Now, there is no reason for me to keep it from her. She's so kind to me, she has a right to know. And… I really just want, so much, someone I can talk to. I find it hard to talk to most people. I can talk to her without fear of judgement or condemnation. I can't do this alone. I'm going to burden her with the truth. It's selfish, but I cannot carry it alone. I can't keep it secret, and I cannot lie to her. I have to tell her. I have to._

_I'm sorry…_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou closed his eyes. "Serenity… I'm going to be honest with you."

"Ryou-"

"I'm Masquerade."

The truth was out.

The consequences had yet to be decided.

Her grip tightened on his hand, and she stared at him in shock, as tears leaked from his eyes.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Gasp! So now Serenity's in on the secret to! Heh heh heh… Now, you've probably all identified by now that my favourite characters are Ryou and Seto. My fics tend to centre around them, but this chapter, I fancied a change and bunged Yugi in. ;-) Besides, I can't be the ONLY one who wondered what happened to his mom and dad. His mom's in the manga, of course but… I'm off-topic. Anyways, next chapter features Seto, yay! Lace my palm with silver and I shall tell you what I foresee coming next…

Seto's not a happy person at the best of times, and a chance meeting with a street fortune teller will doing nothing to improve his mood. But, as he finally achieves his goal, what consequences will his actions have? What spirits of his past will return? What will Masquerade be willing to do to save his sister when Seto interferes? Speaking of whom, just who _was _that in Amane's dream? And what will Serenity do now the secret is out…? More than just Ryou's hopes go up in smoke in **A Superhero Story Chapter Eleven- A Psychic**…

Finally, I'd like to thank all those who reviewed, and also all those who are patient with me and my slow updates! Oh, and in response to the anonymous **Kawaii Chibi Shun**: Thanks for your kind, flattering comments! I hardly think I'm 'amazing' though… I've just had rather a lot of practise. _(Sweatdrop) _Thanks for the reviews, everyone!


	12. A Psychic

A/N: Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Masquerade, moving aside to make room for a Seto-centric chapter. Yes, we have arrived at chapter eleven at last! It's taken a time to write, I must confess, because being busy every weeknight does detach somewhat from writing time. It's fun, though- mostly! Anyways, I have an announcement! It's HALF TERM!! Whoo! That means I have a week off. And that means that tomorrow I shall write my other bits of coursework so that by Tuesday my desk will be officially clear; which means I will have more time for writing. If only I didn't have a social life, then I could spend all day, every day, in front of a computer. ;-) At any rate, I'll try and get _at least_ one more chapter up this week, because, you see, after this week, we hit… _(Deep breaths now) _the exam period, ahhhhhhhh!! Well, revision. Then in December it's the mocks, and in May the real thing. In short, there is going to be a heck of a lot of work coming my way until the summer, and so updates will be even more spondaic. So I'd like to be wrapping this up fairly sharpish- and, as there's only chapters twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and an epilogue to go… Wow, we're practically done!

In other news, this chapter caused a lot of problems. When I was blocking it out, it didn't seem to be flowing well; and so, being me, I decided to chuck in some flashbacks. Of course, it wasn't until they were done that I recalled they were planned into chapter thirteen. But, by then, they were pegged in and it just wouldn't work without them! _(Sweatdrop) _Ah well. I'll just have to figure thirteen out later… Enjoy the chapter, folks!

Disclaimer: Same as usual. Oh! And spot the blatant Shakespearian misquote… if you dare! Mwhahaha…

Eleven- A Psychic

His trench coat flapped behind him as he marched purposefully, angrily ahead. The reason for his anger was, for once, not another living person but at himself. How dare they summon him in this way? More important, why on Earth was he obeying their commands?

He had no other choice. And that's what made him angry.

This would be the absolute last time.

"You look like an open-minded man!" A voice called out to him. Startled from his brooding, stormy, thoughts, he whipped around, and saw a woman standing on the corner of the street. She caught his eye, smiling. "Step this way, sir, and let us see what your palm holds for your future!"

Seto glared at her. He hated fortune tellers. Absolutely abhorred them. And here was this woman, probably not long out of her teens, standing on a street corner and having the audacity to call to him in public about her trade. He did not drop his angry, cold stare as he fought to bite back an angry remark, tainted by his black mood.

She met his gaze levelly, her mismatched eyes looking right across the street at, and into, and under his. One was a deep, chocolaty brown, and seemed to smile with the slight curvature of her thin lips. The other was hazel; brown, amber or green, appearing an autumn yellow; that shimmered like a jewel submerged in water. The slight smile, encouraging, strained, or threatening, seemed to be stretched over concealed small, neat teeth. Her skin was slightly dark, giving the impression that the sun loved her and shone only for her, keeping her skin beautifully bronzed. Her hair, however, was thick and dark, falling to her shoulders, rippling like a dropped silk sheet, two shorter bands of hair framing her face, whispering in her ears. She sat idly on the pavement, back against the wall of the alley, knees tucked up beneath her; clad in jeans that were scuffed and almost white, wearing into holes in certain places. They were flared, almost covering her small feet, and the black converse shoes they inhabited. She wore a simple green t-shirt with the 7-Up logo emblazoned across her chest, and over it was the only thing that would perhaps have marked her trade- a long, patchwork coat; mainly yellow and green and gold, but with some russet brown and red patches sewn in on a whim. She gazed at Seto with those odd, unblinking eyes, as if she already knew all about him. "Only five hundred and fifty five yen, for a look that could save you some trouble some day…" She gestured at the up turned hat before her. Dark, emerald, green, it was the sort with a wide brim and a wider peak, the sort that ballooned like a mushroom. It was devoid of head, currency, or dust. Totally empty, like the words she spoke. "It could even safe you making a grave error. It could save many lives… maybe even your life…"

Seto stalked off down the road without so much as dismissively snorting. He hated fortune tellers.

The psychic watched him going, resting her chin on her hand. Then she sighed, and stood, brushing dirt from the worn patches on her knees. "Pity… I thought he might remember…" She murmured, shrugging, stooping down and picking up her hat from the ground. It had a dent in it, and so she hit it out. "If only he'd been a little more open minded. The city will burn for him…" her strange smile suddenly widened. "Hmm, looks like his curtains will to…" A smile tugged at her lips, and she walked away, in the opposite direction to Seto. Beneath the darkness caused by the peak of the cap, her eyes flashed like a beacon.

Or a warning.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"I hear he completely destroyed the house."_

"_He heard they had died, and went berserk."_

"_The furniture was all torn up and thrown about by the time anyone thought to go and find the boys."_

"_His poor brother, cowering in a corner!"_

"_Surely, his parents must have known…"_

"_No, no, she always was quite dippy… And he always looked at the world through rose-tinted glasses."_

"_Besides, wasn't this the first time?"_

"_He claimed he didn't know why he did it. The little one just kept crying for his mother. Scared to death, the little shrimp."_

"_Either way, the problem of the matter is- what do we do with them now? It seems if we are to get our money we must have the children…"_

"_Well, I certainly can't take them! I refuse to have my house ruined!"_

"_That child is a menace!"_

"_I disagree. He's quite talented. If we could merely manipulate his abilities…"_

"_We could be better off for it!"_

"_Well, rather you than me! His parents are dead; how long do you think you'll last?"_

"_Ha, you wait and see. He's a little goldmine!"_

"_He's a _liability_..."_

_Seto shuddered, drawing his black clad knees up to his chest. He did not want to go with any of these people. He wanted his parents. He wanted to feel safe again. He hated seeing them swallowed by the black, gaping, maw of death. He wanted Mokie to look at him without fear in his eyes. He wanted to go home._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto's path took him past the Game Shop, and, for the briefest of seconds, he paused, watching a lazy flame curl up at one of the back windows. He shrugged slightly. He could already tell that no more then the back room would really sustain any damage; and to be honest, he didn't care. He had more important matters to attend to.

But, for some reason, the urgency of his steps increased.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The smoke told them long before anything else what had happened. It bounded up the street to meet them, tugging their wrists, dragging to come and look at its handy work.

"No way…" Yugi whispered as they continued on, about to round the corner onto his street. "It can't be. Not another fire…"

Ryou remained silent. If only Yugi knew. It could well be. If only if he knew.

They rounded the corner, and Yugi dropped the bags and ran; ran towards where his grandfather stood in front of the Game Shop, flames billowing out of the downstairs windows like some sort of sickening bonfire. A fire crew was dousing it now, and it looked like only one or two rooms would be damaged. Unfortunately, one was the shop. Their stock, their livelihood, was going up in smoke.

Ryou muttered condolences, not knowing any other action to take, and felt more useless than ever, as he slowly approached where Yugi and his Grandpa stood in silent abhorrence at the sight before them. What could he say? 'Don't worry, it happened to me'? What comfort could he lend? He had none himself. What could he do? Nothing. He had no leads, no clues, no path to take. He could do nothing. Sighing, he looked down at his feet, and the answer presented itself to him.

It was a small white card, a business card; and the picture upon it was a simple graphic of a fire, as if taken from a children's book. It could have been the card of the fire-fighters, but somehow, Ryou knew it wasn't. These last few days had awakened a new sense in him, a new perception of the world, and a sudden understanding without really knowing what he knew. Some instinct was telling him to pick up the card, the card emitting such feelings of dread, because there was nothing else he could do. He had to rescue Amane. He had to look at the card.

He stooped over, snatching it up between two fingers. It was smooth, plastic, and, somehow, it felt very, very cold under his touch. Ryou flipped it over. In smooth, flowing typeface was the simple name that carried such consequence- The Pyromaniac. And, beneath it, was a handwritten annotation, all in English:

**_Masquerade-_**

**_Come to my warehouse at the forgotten end of town at 3:00PM sharp. It's easy to find- it's right at the end of the row, on the left. Your sister, Amane, will remain in my care until that time; but after that her safety cannot be assured. Nor can that of our mutual friend, Penelope Hightman. Please don't be late, Ryou, or at 3:15PM the city will burn. _**

Ryou frowned a little, thinking how hard his job was sometimes. But, it took no more than a second for him to begin pelting down the road, looking for somewhere, anywhere, where he could don his mask and take to the skies.

"Ryou!" Yugi yelled from beside his Grandfather. "Where are you going?!"

"To sort this out!"

"You can't be serious!" Grandpa shouted after him. "Ryou, what do you mean? There's nothing you can do! Come back!"

And yet, their words were not heeded. Ryou had already gone. But Grandpa was wrong. There was _plenty_ he could do.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Here! Take the little brats! I can't handle them anymore!" _

_Seto said nothing, but clung to a nervous Mokuba's hand as the black porche, brought with a dead man's money, speed away with out remorse or regret; or the slightest doubt. It would not look back, and neither would Seto. He was tired of being used. He was tired of living to the fickle whims of other people. He would be who, and what, he wanted to be. These people, this strange orphanage, so far from home, would not change him or mould him. Seto would do that himself. He remained silent, and the man bent down to look into his eyes._

_"Hello, Seto- welcome to your new home. Would you and Mokuba like to come inside?"_

_Seto considered, wondering how they would be treated here. Orphanages were rarely portrayed as bright and cheerful places in the media, seen as deceiving as the media itself was. He shrugged._

_"And will this be home?" He asked, quietly. The man touched his shoulder sympathetically._

_"Yes." He said, sincerely. Then he smirked. "You'll see, Seto. Once you're in our family, you're in it forever, no matter what. I think you'll like it here Seto. There's a lot of other children, just like you." He nodded over to a small climbing frame in the garden. A girl with dark hair and two different coloured eyes jumped down from it and ran back into the house when she realised she'd been caught._

_That threw Seto slightly. "Like… me?"_

_The man nodded, his smirk becoming ever broader. "Yes."_

_"You know nothing about me." Seto said, suddenly frightened. "I…I wrecked my house when my mom and dad died!" _

_"We know _everything _about you." The man assured him. "And home wreakers…you could say… are our speciality." He caught hold of Seto's spare hand, and, smiling encouragingly, began to lead him onwards to the next part of his life. And Seto went with him, taking himself and Mokuba away from their past for good._

_One decision can divert a life as surely as a dam diverts a river. Where the water flows instead to reach it's ultimate end is something nobody knows; and those on it have no choice but to ride the current and hope it leads them home, or to try to swim against the tide._

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Amane was not particularly comfortable at that moment in time. Who would be, trussed up like a parcel and thrown into the footrest of the backseat of a car, where they could not be seen from anyone outside? She was wedged in so tightly that the bonds around her were hardly necessary, and, as they zoomed along to some unknown destination, she had to admit her situation was not looking too hopeful. She hoped Ryou wouldn't do anything stupid. But, mostly, she was worried about Penelope.

The girl kept shooting worried, guilty looks back at her. Wherever they were going, it didn't look like Penelope wanted to. Amane was certain it wouldn't be good, for her, her brother, or Penelope. How could she trust this man? The thing was, she wasn't sure she did. With a sudden mental jolt, Amane found the realisation that Penelope was as scared as she was. As lost for what to do as she was. It was out of Penelope's hands. They were in trouble, stepped in so far that, should they wade no more, returning was as tedious as going on.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Seto. Seto! Wake up!" Mokuba begged. "Wake up, Seto! You'll get in trouble!"_

_Seto opened his eyes slowly, lifting his head off the desk; one of the papers sticking for a second and then falling, tumbling back down. He rubbed his stiff neck, looking around, a little confused._

_"Seto, if you don't get it all done, he'll hit you again!" Mokuba informed him fearfully. _

_Seto nodded, picking up the pen again, rubbing his tired eyes. Then, he squeezed it unnecessarily hard, till the plastic began to protest. "I don't know how much more I can take of this…" He muttered. "I hate it here. We were better off at the orphanage."_

_"That's not true!" Mokuba insisted, whispering so they would not be heard. "At least here we're free…right? That's what you always said, isn't it?"_

_Seto swallowed slightly, moving his numb ankle which their dear stepfather chose to chain to the desk to make sure Seto did not shirk his work. "…Sure, Mokuba. That's right."_

_"Good." Mokuba said, still young enough to be suitably comforted by words alone. "So, once you're done, you'll come and play, right?"_

_"I won't have any time to play, Mokuba. That's why he took all our toys and games, remember?"_

_"I remember." Mokuba said, dully, his façade of cheeriness no longer able to hold up. "He's horrible and I hate him."_

_"I know."_

_"…" Mokuba dared to go over and hug his brother, who continued with the work before him. "Seto, I want to go home."_

_There was no answer._

_"Big brother? I want to go home…"_

_"I don't even know where 'home' is." Seto answered, quietly._

_"Home is where the heart is." Mokuba answered, simply. "So you go where you left your heart."_

_"Oh?" Seto answered, amused despite himself at the boy's innocence. "So home is in your ribs?"_

_"No!" Mokuba giggled. "Home is where your _heart _is."_

_"Where?"_

_"It's a _really_ special place." The little boy told him conspiratorially. "Where you can play all day and it's always fun, you can eat what you want whenever you like- lots of food!- and there are no bossy people telling you what to do. Everyone's friendly and no-one tries to split us up. You're always safe there, and nothing bad ever happens. That's 'home', see?"_

_"I see." Seto answered, squeezing the pen again._

_"Can we go there?" Mokuba asked. "I want to go home."_

_"Me to." Seto admitted. "…We'll get there someday, alright?"_

_"Tomorrow?"_

_"Maybe not tomorrow."_

_"Well…" Mokuba said, slowly, but then went and climbed onto his lap again. "I guess that's okay. But when we get there, big brother, you can't start messing everything up like…"_

_"That won't ever happen again. I promise. Even if it means we're stuck here for a while, I promise." Seto suddenly lifted his head up off his brothers, and pushed the young boy gently from his lap. "I can hear him coming! You have to go!"_

_"Seto…"_

_"Do you want to get in trouble to?"_

_"No…"_

_"You're not supposed to speak to me! Go on, go hide in your room! Don't let him catch you!" _

_"But what if he…"_

_"I'm going to protect you. Don't worry. Now go!" _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The building stood before him. It seemed innocent enough, a skyscraper pointing a defiant finger up to the sky, saying that it would defy gravity and any other physical or ethical rules it wanted. The windows were tinted, to prevent the commoner on the street from looking in. The Japanese branch- or one of them. They were all over the world, a pestilence, a rash that could not be scratched breaking out all over the world. It could not be ignored, and it would not go away on it's own. Without hesitation, Seto Kaiba walked in, not sparing a glance at the elaborate surroundings within the office block, not noticing how the thick carpet completely deadened the sound of his feet. He walked in, and stopped.

"Seto! I was so worried you wouldn't come! How nice to see you."

"You should know by now I don't back down from a challenge." Seto stated, looking into the woman's eyes without flinching. "Not unlike your son, as it happens. Not that you'd know."

That remark cost him, as she swung up a hand to slap his face, but he caught her wrist easily, smirking.

"Middle age making you weak, Miss Motto?"

"Don't call me that." She hissed. "And don't you _dare _mention that… that… _kid_ to me ever again!"

Seto remained silent for a long time, staring at her in disgust. Coldly, he let go of her arm. "You despicable woman. You are the worst kind of scum. I suppose it was you that burnt your father's shop, to?"

"How dare you accuse me of such a thing?!" She shrieked. "You think you're so wonderful, Seto Kaiba; but I warn you-"

"Actually, Seto, that's why we called you in…" A voice drawled calmly. Seto was not surprised by the sudden appearance of the voice or of it's owner, who, just as he had appeared in Seto's office, had appeared in the lobby; perching jauntily on Miss Motto's desk. "It really _wasn't _us. Perhaps you'll come up to my office?"

"No."

"Oh, how petty." The man sighed, sliding off the desk. "Fine, we'll have it out here… You see, we have a problem at the moment. This horrific bout of fires we've been having…"

"Why are you doing this?" Seto asked, calmly.

"We're not!" The man insisted. "That's the problem! Well, no, actually- the problem is this 'Masquerade' guy. There's a villain out there, and as long as Masquerade's around, we're not getting paid to deal with it."

"So you want me to deal with him?"

"Not with the fire guy. With Masquerade."

Seto folded his arms. "We've had this conversation before. I've agreed to unmask him."

"I know…" The man said, patronisingly. "But, you see, I just don't think that's good enough anymore… So we want you to issue an ultimatum."

"And what's that?"

"The usual." He dismissed, waving a hand. "He's either for us or against us."

"What does that make me?" Seto smirked. Suddenly, the man was upon him, holding his face in an iron grip, squeezing his jaw.

"That, my ambiguous friend, makes you lucky to be alive." He grinned, releasing his face and patting his face before stepping away at last. "But don't worry. Do this for us, and we'll leave you alone."

"And if I don't?" Seto asked, wearily.

"You know what happens if you don't." He replied, easily. "We never did really get over you abandoning us, Seto. Make it up to us now, eh? Don't disappoint me."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou moved on and on, not caring to preserve energy with his usual trick of air-walking, but actually flying, high and hard and fast. Faster than he ever had before, so fast that the mask stuck to his face and the winds around him were becoming warm. Indeed, as he ripped through the air, it responded in his wake, gathering together and the sudden turbulence resulting in a dry storm, thunder rolling and lightning bounding down over the city, winds howling and roaring; the sky as much in turmoil as Masquerade himself as he headed towards the deserted areas of town. He had to get there, there was no two ways about it.

But then, why was he slowing down?

With some alarm, he noticed he was not only slowing down, but falling. Not falling, uncontrolled, to the ground, but with intent and purpose. Only it was not Ryou's intent, and he abandoned his focus on his goal to try and pull himself out of the invisible grip that he now felt tightening horribly around him. His descent began to speed up, and, level with the tops of the buildings now, he was reeled in all the faster; before finding himself tumbling through an open window into a large, abandoned warehouse that he believed had once belonged to Kaiba Corp. Indeed, as the invisible hand dropped him callously down, he found himself looking up through the slits in his mask at none other then Seto Kaiba himself.

Masquerade felt a little confused. Still, if anyone was able to develop the technology to ground him, it would be Kaiba. But now was not the time to deal with this.

Nodding his goodbye at Kaiba, perhaps conveying the respect that, yes, the young CEO had caught him at last, he turned towards the window, only to see it slam shut. He slowly turned in surprise.

"Not bad, am I?" Seto said, mockingly. "Considering how rusty I am…"

And then Ryou realised. Kaiba had powers to.

He was in deep, hot, water; endless as the ocean. He had to get out of here.

"Impressive. I…" Masquerade spat out. Then he shook his head. "I can't deal with this right now! I'm leaving…"

"I can't let you do that." Seto said, calmly, planting himself in front of him. "I need to expose you."

"And I can't let you do that." Masquerade answered, shoving past him. "I have something more important to do right now." He began to move away, and then, there was that grip again, tightening around his chest. He doubled over slightly, and then Kaiba was before him, looking down on him, disgust evident in his eyes.

"I think you'll find this rather pressing." Seto remarked, smirking. Masquerade glowered beneath the mask and shot up into the air like a cork from a bottle, sailing straight up and over Kaiba. Or that was the intention. When his arc reached it's peak, the invisible vines caught him again, and threw him hard. He collided with one of the huge rack of shelves, empty now, and slammed into it so hard it wobbled in it's ancient bearings, sending a showering of dust over Masquerade as he crashed to the cement floor, dust shooting up on impact and joining the grime circulating in the air. The air was bad here, it didn't like him; and as Masquerade groaned, the only thing that dragged him back to his feet was the idea of Amane, and rescuing her.

And Kaiba was in the way.

"You…" Masquerade barely remembered to disguise his voice, rage making it creak and strain. "Just chose the wrong day to cross me."

Kaiba did not look very concerned. "Haven't you seen yet? You can't compete with me."

"I can try." Masquerade immediately leapt up into the air, and threw himself at Kaiba, kicking him in the eye before the formidable guy had time to react. Using Kaiba's head as a spring board was an easy trick, as he flipped lightly away, being sure to land a blow in his back on the way past. But Ryou was holding back. He didn't really want to hurt the guy…

Seto turned, eyes blazing ferociously, one blackened and bleeding.

"And I thought we could settle this like adults." He hissed.

Masquerade decided the best tactic was to avoid him as much as possible, and called the air to him, flying up into one of the dark corners, high up on top of one of the colossal shelves. It was a long way up, and from here, the whole place looked different, cavernous. He would never have been able to find the door on the ground anyway. It was a real industrial thing. He crawled along the top of the shelf, because here, at the bottom of the roof's curve, there was not enough room to stand. At least the blanket of dust that coated it like snow muffled his movements somewhat.

Kaiba stood still, silent. Somehow, that worried Ryou more. He seemed like an animal about to pounce. As a precaution, he whispered to the air and suddenly, around Kaiba, a whirlwind cropped up, forcing him to lift an arm to shield his eyes. Masquerade took advantage of the distraction, throwing himself over the chasm between him and the next metal rack, plummeting on to it.

Seto heard the clang of landing, and opened his eyes even against the dust and dirt flying at him, impairing his vision and breathing. He pinpointed the location, and concentrated on that large storage rack, metal and heavy.

Masquerade felt the metal groaning and straining beneath him. He looked down, and saw the gargantuan shelf buckling, warping, twisting. He came to the sudden, idle conclusion that he hated telekinetic powers. Just before the shelf collapsed entirely, he threw himself into the air, and back out into open view. Before he could move another step towards the door, Kaiba spotted him and yelled up.

"Why not come down here?"

"Why not come up here?" Ryou responded, irritably, landing on another shelf and beginning to make his way towards the door.

Seto watched the figure moving along high above him and sighed. Why did everyone have to be so argumentative…?

Masquerade felt the disturbance in the air rather then heard it, so good was Kaiba at his art. He ducked just in time as the broken fragment of metal, twice his size and ten times his weight, one of the shelves, whistled over his masked head, so fast the air seemed to stay in two parts for a second, and imbedded itself in the opposite wall. Annoyed now, Masquerade yelled down at his adversary.

"I thought you wanted to expose me as a fraud, not _kill _me!"

Kaiba shrugged. "It makes very little difference."

"It does to me!" Masquerade pointed out, looking maliciously down at him and squeezing his fingers together.

Kaiba felt the air being pulled away from him, out of his lungs, up his throat, through every orifice of his face. His lungs were being squeezed unbearably, he was driven to his knees as they twisted and squirmed, flattened, looking to suck in air that wouldn't reach them…

A sharp impact came in the back of his head, knocking him down onto his face, but, thankfully, he was allowed to breathe again. He stood, glaring at the projectile, a portable music player of some sort, now never to be used again. He hated it even more that, if it hadn't had been thrown, he might have suffocated. But this was beyond pride, now. Now, he was just annoyed.

He stepped onto the bottom of one of the sets of shelves, jumped, and swung himself up onto the next; only just reaching even with the bonuses of his height and his leap. He stood again, and repeated the process as he moved up onto the next, and the next, and the next…

Masquerade watched him climb.

"This guy just doesn't know when to quit." He muttered, summoning a gale force wind to blow Kaiba from his precarious position and then to lower him gently to the ground. He was almost at the colossal sliding, metal, door now.

He was certainly not expecting it to explode off it's runners and fly back, shunting him straight into another group of metallic shelves. He groaned, lying on the floor, coughing.

That had really hurt.

All too late, he felt that terrible, cold grip tighten around him. He was too weak from the last attack to fight it. He was punched into the roof, sending splinters of wood cascading down, before being lowered none-to-gently down to the floor.

Seto loomed over him. Masquerade looked up at him. He was trapped, and in pain. Helpless. A sitting duck.

Kaiba considered him. It had not been a bad fight.

"I need to talk to you." He stated, simply.

Of all the things Masquerade had been expecting, that had not been it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"They're after me?" Masquerade asked, in astonishment. "But… Why?"

"You're bad for business." Seto stated, calmly.

"…I don't understand."

"Then allow me to explain." Seto answered, wryly, and stood. His monologue was simple, and matter-of-fact, completely monotone bar the tiniest break of anger now and again. "It's perfectly simple, Masquerade. As you're probably aware, you are not the only one in the world with… talents. Special strengths, 'powers', if you will. Although most are not so open about it, admittedly. At any rate, it was some one hundred years ago that the first heroes, tired of the persecution they suffered at the hands of those who branded them 'freaks', grew tired of humanity. They were perfectly happy to be saved by those considered to be demons, but would have no dealings with them. Gradually, less and less of those with the skills wanted to use them. They saw no good in the world anymore, nothing worth saving. As a result, there needed to be some other reason for them to do their work. That reason, as with everything, was money."

"They're… heroes-for-hire?"

Seto nodded. "That's how it started. They called themselves The Trust, and delivered letters to their respective governments informing them that their services were no longer free, and that if they wanted to be protected, they would have to pay for it. Of course, the governments refused to pay- at first. They quickly found that their police forces alone just weren't up to the job."

"Wait." Masquerade interrupted. "Are you insinuating that they… caused the problems?"

"Perhaps." Seto shrugged. "Nobody knows. The only certainty is that the 'Superheroes' quickly found themselves hired; and, gradually, they faded out of society all together, their work secret, their talents hidden…"

"And we're all forced to work alone." Masquerade murmured.

"Well, join them, if you like." Seto countered.

"Never." Masquerade replied, firmly. "Not for money. They're as much villains as they are heroes! Doesn't it strike you as… immoral?"

Seto shrugged again, a bad habit he had acquired from Mokuba. "I don't care for the ethics of it. But I refuse to let them control me anymore. So join them, if you want to. I'd recommend you do."

"Why?"

"Because, if you don't, they'll kill you." He stated, simply.

"…Did you have to tell me so melodramatically?"

"Yes. Or would you rather I hadn't warned you?"

"I…" Masquerade placed his head into his hands. "I just… Never wanted it to be this difficult."

"Be that as it may…" Seto began, suddenly advancing towards him. "There is another matter to be discussed."

Suddenly feeling threatened, Masquerade rose to his feet. "And that is?"

"I swore I would unmask you."

"You…"

"It's not personal." Kaiba responded, pinning him easily to the wall without so much as lifting a finger and slowly advancing towards him. "If you want to waste your time saving people, you go ahead. I agree with the Trustees in that there's nothing worth saving, but that's it. Myself, I'd prefer people not to know that we even exist. Since you showed up, there's been a witch hunt. I don't want powers, and I can manage fine without them. I didn't use them to get where I am. But if people knew, do you think they'll understand that? So, you see, it would be a lot better all round if you were shown up as a fraud."

"Let me go, Kaiba." Masquerade said, steely, unable to move anything but his arms in that cold, iron, grip.

"Think about it. If the Trustees thought you were a fraud, maybe they wouldn't come for you. And perhaps they wouldn't come for me."

"Let me go!"

"I can't do that."

"Please!" Masquerade begged. "Please! The Pyromaniac- setting all the fires- he has _hostages_, Kaiba! _Hostages!_"

"I couldn't care less about your moral fibre. I'm just out to expose you." He began to reach out for the mask, but Masquerade got to it before he did.

"You want to see who's under here?!" Ryou demanded, in his normal voice. "Fine!" He ripped the mask off over his head, and looked up defiantly into his captor's eyes.

"Bakura?!"

"That's right. And the hostages he's got? My sister, Kaiba." Ryou said, softly. "Please… I thought she was dead for so long… and he's going to set fire to the city if I don't get there. I have to save her. You always do it for Mokuba. Please, I'm asking you… Let me go…"

Seto remained silent. Bakura didn't understand. If he let the guy go, he'd never be left alone. They would make his life hell. They would get to him through Mokuba for certain. He wanted to let him go, he had never wanted to be in this mess in the first place, but he couldn't. It was impossible.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"_Ha, you wait and see. He's a little goldmine!"_

"_He's a _liability_..."_

_Seto shuddered, drawing his black clad knees up to his chest. He did not want to go with any of these people. He wanted his parents. He wanted to feel safe again. He hated seeing them swallowed by the black, gaping, maw of death. He wanted Mokie to look at him without fear in his eyes. He wanted to go home._

_With sudden, single minded determination, he moved over to the small, sombre table that provided refreshments, and for the family members there, suitable motivation for them to bother coming to the funeral. How Seto wished the hateful people would go away… He didn't mind the people that had been friends with his parents so much, but these people hadn't even known them. Checking no-one was watching, he lifted up the corner of the table cloth and ducked underneath._

_"Mokie?"_

_The little boy looked up at him with watery eyes, and Seto flinched as he saw the fright in them. "Mokie, it's okay, I'm alright now…"_

_His little brother chewed his lip as though he doubted it, unable to forget how he had hid behind the door as furniture and all the possessions had flown around the room, Seto so consumed with rage that he suddenly gained these powers. It scared Mokuba. It scared Seto. _

What _am _I? _He wondered, often._

_Licking his dry, salty lips, he held out a hand, a gesture of peace, to his brother. In it was a small piece of pork pie, finger food. Mokuba took it tentatively, in the same way he'd taken everything Seto had provided in those three hellish days where they waited for someone to come, but no-one did. Their parents did not come home, because they were dead. No-one came for them. No-one cared enough to come._

_"I'm sorry." Seto whispered again. "It won't ever happen again. Ever. I promise."_

_Mokuba uttered no word of forgiveness, but crawled over and huddled against his older brother, all grievances forgotten, and howled. Seto held him close, eyes stinging, tears threatening to spill over; but he refused to let them fall. He had to be strong for Mokie, he had to look after him now. He could not let his emotions get the better of him. He could not lose control again._

_"We'll be okay, Mokuba." He said, firmly. "We'll be okay."_

_ The little boy shuddered, still not voicing his thoughts although he was a perfectly fluent speaker._

_"I won't do it again." Seto repeated, as much for himself as for Mokuba. "I won't let it happen again. And… and… I'll take care of you, Mokie. We don't need any of those guys. We'll run away, get jobs, earn money… We'll be okay. I promise."_

_"Okay." Mokuba said simply, and slowly sagged into a silent, dreamless sleep as his brother clung to him, the last scrap of his family. Seto bit his lip. Sleep would not come for him. He'd made his promise._

_Now he had to figure out how to keep it. _

Seto looked down at Bakura's face, which stared back at his, looking for some shred of humanity that had long since disappeared. But Seto never did anything indecisively, at least not openly. He had been pleaded with. He had also been threatened.

He had made his decision.

He turned his back on Bakura, dropping the power over him.

"Go."

Bakura stood, but then hesitated. "Will… you be okay?"

Seto smirked. "I can handle it."

Bakura nodded, and headed towards the gaping hole that used to be the doorway.

"Bakura? This isn't over. Also…"

"Yes?"

"You forgot your mask."

"Oh."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_The Trust, that's what Kaiba said they were called. A society of heroes that sold out, and that, surely, if they are not paid, would resort to any measures. They know that they can overpower the 'average man', and they use that not to the advantage of others, but to an advantage of their own. I could never do that._

_And yet, I wonder if they hold a point. Has mankind gone so stale that there's nothing worth saving anymore? There's so much pointless evil, and suffering; and so many of us that do nothing about it. How much can one man do alone? It takes everyone, I guess, or there's hardly any point in trying. _

_That's what some people think. The cynics. One man can make a difference. Maybe he can't change _the _world, but he can maybe change his. Maybe he can change someone else's. It's just a matter of choosing to._

_I try. I don't succeed, but I try. Kaiba, it seems, does not, and no more does the Trust. I wonder how Kaiba fell in with them- and if he really believes that there's nothing worth saving. How can he say that? He knows Mokuba is worth saving, just like I know Amane is; and so is everyone else in this city I've come to call home. Maybe I shouldn't have told Serenity. But I had to tell someone. Home is where the heart is; and home is something we'd do anything to protect, and to rescue the people within it._

_I'm going to stop this chaos. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: And there we have it. If you're thinking that there was absolutely no reason for Seto and Ryou to fight, well… you'd be absolutely right! I have to admit, I was blocking the chapter and realised we never got to see them clash and so added it in purely for the sake of it. But come on. I bet you all wanted to see it to. Oh! And if things in this chapter seem a bit vague, don't worry- they'll be cleared up in the next chapter that Seto features in, which is number thirteen. I have to feel a bit sorry for Ryou, this time- in this whole chapter, he only had a crummy monologue and appearances in four scenes! The rest was all Seto… Ah well. Old habits die hard. XD

In other news, well done to **Dragonlady222** who saw this coming aeons ago. :D

Now then, I think it's high time I shut up… but there is _just _time for some rhetorical questions, right? Now Serenity's in on the secret, what will she do? And what secret does she _really _need to confess to Ryou? (As if we don't know!) As Pyro begins to set fire to the city, what will his hostages do? More importantly, will Joey actually have a role to play? Things tumble to the ground in **A Superhero Story Chapter Twelve- An Ally or Two…** (Dig the marginally different title!!)

Thanks for reading, and see you soon!


	13. An Ally or Two

A/N: Wootage, it's an update! Unfortunately, you can kinda tell that I missed writing fluffier scenes _and _that I want to write something more conclusive for Ryou and Serenity, because the first scene is just that- a total overload, in fact. Ah well. Also in this chapter, we have more flashbacks chucked in purely for the sake of it, and two (hopefully) rather surprising surprises. I apologise in advance for them. _(Sweatdrop) _Hopefully, though, no-one saw it coming! I'd rather like to be unpredictable for once. ;-) I also have to apologise for the _blatant _disregard as to the laws of physics, but then, you're reading a fic about Superheroes, so I hope you won't mind. Heh.

And so! We begin with the immediate aftermath of Ryou telling Serenity he's Masquerade- remember that from the end of chapter ten?- and then it's sort of a 'meanwhile' to last chapter. You'll see where we get back to horizontal time, I'm sure. On with the show!

Disclaimer: I don't own. Goodness me, these get really _old_…

Twelve- An Ally or Two

"Ryou…" She answered awkwardly. "Come on. Sit down. Talk to me."

He did so, slowly. "I… I failed you." He said, not looking at her. "And all the others."

"How?" She asked, smiling reassuringly. "How have you failed, Ryou?"

"I… I wanted to protect everyone. But I failed."

Serenity placed a hand over his, trying to comfort him.

"None of this is your fault, Ryou."

"You don't know that." He snapped, suddenly looking right up into her eyes. "Why do you think Amane was taken? Why do you think you were targeted? Someone is trying to rob me of everything precious to me."

Serenity bit her lip slightly. Now was not the time to ask him to elaborate on what his words were insinuating. "Ryou, I'm sure that's not true." She told him, firmly. "There was nothing you could do to prevent this- any of it. There was nothing you could do."

"Yes there was." He said, so quietly, she had to bring her face close to his just to hear the words. "There always was. But I wanted to protect people. I wanted to help people. Then it was too late. Too many lies, too much deceit, too many bad choices. There was something I could have done. I could have chosen differently…"

"Ryou!" Serenity said, sternly. "I'm telling you- it is _not _your fault! Stop beating yourself up! You didn't start the fires! You didn't kidnap Amane! You didn't provoke anyone to do such terrible things! It's _not _your fault! Please, Ryou… believe me… You couldn't have stopped it. Please, I can't stand seeing you like this…"

"It _is _my fault." Ryou insisted, breathing shallowly, turning his face away. "By trying to protect people, I'm only endangering those closest to me."

"That's not true." Serenity tried.

"It is." Ryou closed his eyes. "Serenity… I'm going to be honest with you."

He was tired of lies. He was so tired of it all.

"Ryou-"

"I'm Masquerade."

The truth was out.

The consequences had yet to be decided.

Her grip tightened on his hand, and she stared at him in shock, as tears leaked from his eyes.

"I'm Masquerade." Ryou repeated, slowly. "It's me. I'm him."

"You're…"

"I'm sorry…" Ryou whispered. "I'm so sorry… All this time, I wanted to tell you… and now…"

"Ryou." She said, quietly, still not dropping his hand. "It's alright. It's alright…" She smiled slightly. "But… wow."

"Wow?"

"What else is it?" Serenity demanded. "Ryou, you're _Masquerade_! You can fly!"

"Yes." He nodded. "…You'll believe me so easily?"

"Well, you've never lied to me before." Serenity joked, but he looked away. "…Right?" Then she realised. "Oh…The cinema."

"And countless other times." Ryou sighed. "I swear to you, I was only lying because if anyone connected you to me then you'd end up…here." He tried to pull his hand out of her grip, but she refused to let him go. "But what good did it do? These people… they know who I am; they must do, and all these fires… And Amane… It's all to get to me. To force my hand. I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologise." She said, softly.

"But it's my fault! I was so selfish… I wanted to make myself feel good by helping people, justified lying to you by saying it was to protect you; and once again, I've spent so long trying to protect other people that those closest to me are the ones that have been hurt. I thought maybe I could do this… and I screwed up. I should have just kept out of it, let the police handle it, and then none of this would have happened. I should have realised I wasn't- ow!"

Serenity finally released his hand, letting him cradle it, now that she had slammed it against the wall. She raised an eyebrow, and said, without a hint of apology:

"Are you finished?"

Ryou couldn't help but smile. "…That depends. I dread to see what you'll do if I say no."

"If beating you up is the only way to stop you beating _yourself _up, I'll do it." She said, hotly. "You're wrong, Ryou; you're totally wrong! This isn't your fault! You're a good person, you're doing everything in your power to help people; and if people take advantage of that- fine! But it _isn't _your fault. You do everything you can, and if you screw up… there's no point dwelling on it. When something goes wrong, you just have to say 'Okay, what's next?'! You have to keep going. You're a _superhero, _right? Accept it- the good, and the bad; and keep moving on."

"I wouldn't call myself a 'superhero'…" Ryou murmured, reluctantly. "And… what if there's nothing I can do?"

"Then you do nothing." Serenity told him, quietly. "And you move on without the things you've lost. But, never forget- you don't go without a fight."

"I'm not sure I can-"

Serenity overrode him. "Don't give up. Not until the bitter end. You can do it, Ryou, I know it."

"Don't you mean 'Masquerade'?" He asked bitterly/

"No." Serenity shook her head. "Masquerade is just… a mask and a name. He's nothing. The skills are yours. The heart and soul are yours. And that's the person I know. So _you_ can do it."

Ryou remained silent for a moment, and then he laughed. "Thank you."

"…For what?"

"You did it again." He shrugged. "Every time that I… that I've felt like I couldn't… you've been the one to convince me to go on. To not give up. You're the reason I _became _Masquerade again. Thank you."

"No, you did that." Serenity answered, blushing furiously. "That was you, not me."

Ryou shook his head. "No. You make me feel strong again. You make me feel like I can do anything. I honestly… don't know what I'd do without you."

"Not a lot, from the sounds of it." Serenity teased. Ryou laughed in agreement.

"Well then." He said, abruptly. "I guess I better go and see if I can't find something other than 'nothing' to do…"

"Be careful!" Serenity warned, suddenly scared. "I know you have to go… But, for heaven's sake, make sure you come back!"

Ryou said nothing, but looked at her until, once again, she felt quite embarrassed.

"I'm frightened." She admitted.

"Me to."

"Take care." She whispered, impulsively throwing her arms around his neck. Ryou held onto her, taking comfort from the embrace. The last few days had been so dreadful, so awful, it had numbed his mind and heart; and at last, she was breathing life back into them. Adrenaline coursed around his body. He had a job to do, and it infuriated him that he had no way of doing it. But, for a moment more, he was content to stay there with her and forget everything else. He was happy to stay wrapped around her, and linger in a state of thoughtlessness, where, just for a little while, his troubles did not seem so insurmountable. "Don't get hurt." She instructed him.

"That's just what I kept saying to you guys." Ryou answered, bitterly. "Sometimes, things happen that we can't help."

"I know." Serenity answered. "You can't help being what you are any more then I can."

"You are exactly what you're supposed to be."

"I…"

They lapsed into silence, but they did not let go. As if they had entered a dream, they were not thinking about what they were doing, or what the consequences would be when they woke from it. For a moment, they just held each other as all the pain and loss and arguments and surprise and fear of their worlds washed around them. Their problems did not go away. Serenity still knew that, one day, she'd have to go home and face her mother. Ryou still knew that saving Amane would be all but impossible. They both knew that they hardly knew anything anymore. But, for a second, they could forget, and be comforted.

"Ready to go, Ryou?" Yugi's amused voice sounded; and, as though his voice was the alarm clock of their slumber, the two sprung apart, suddenly unable to look each other, or Yugi, in the eye. Ryou stood up, awkwardly.

"I'll see you soon." He stated.

"You better had…" She answered, sounding concerned, and then, the two boys left, the door swinging softly shut behind them.

Yugi, meanwhile, was in a moral conundrum. He so _desperately _wanted to tease his shy friend, but, somehow, he thought there had been more to the embrace then just their hidden feelings finally coming out. Ryou was going through the stuff of nightmares, and Serenity certainly wasn't having much fun either. He'd only stood, stunned, for a second, but he had sensed pain in their embrace; but a certain amount of comfort to. He couldn't take that away from the guy. So, instead, he merely said:

"Don't worry. I won't say anything to any of the others. And I won't ask."

"…Thank you."

And yet, Yugi noticed, there was some new purpose in his stride that hadn't been there before.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Ryou!" Amane pouted. "Are you going to sit there and read _all _day?!"_

_"Not if you keep pestering me." Ryou answered, eyes glued to the page. _

_"But it's so _boring_…"_

_"It's a good book."_

_"But we can't both read it at once!" She pointed out. "Can't we do something? Please? Come on, it's a lovely sunny day! Come into the garden! We haven't been out for _months_, and now the weather's good again! Please, I'm bored…"_

_"Eleven years old, and you can't amuse yourself?"_

_"Ryou…"_

_"Alright, alright, I'll come outside."_

_"Yay!" Amane grabbed his wrist and pulled him in the direction of the back door. Ryou allowed her to do so, reading his book as he went and knowing his way around through some sort of internal radar. Without so much as glancing from the fantasy world before him, he chose to take off his socks rather than put on shoes, and ventured out barefoot. Amane ran out onto the grass, the first time she had felt it under her feet this spring. Laughing, she threw herself down onto it- for it had hardly been cut over the winter months either, and gazed up at the clouds. For a second, she was content; but then she realised her twin was not with her. She sat up, and scowled at him. He remained oblivious, sitting on the swing, reading his book. He fully intended to ignore her, she could tell._

_"Ryou!"_

_"I came out." He pacified._

_"Can't we do something? You've been reading _all morning_..."_

_"I want to." _

_Amane frowned all the harder, and then noticed their ball, lying, half overgrown by grass. She picked it up, wrinkling her nose in disgust. It had been left out all winter, had been put through snow and wind and rain, and had lain abandoned in the mud; it's owners unable to brave the elements to come and rescue it. Rubbing some mysterious green scum from the ball's faded surface, she tossed it at her brother. He'd have fun if he wanted to or not._

_"Ryou! Catch!"_

_"No." Ryou stated, simply, not looking up. Amane fell silent. In fact, it seemed the whole world did. The birds stopped singing. The wind stood still. No cars passed on the road outside. Peace at last._

_"Ryou…?"_

_"What?" He asked, wearily._

_"How are you doing that?" Amane asked, fearfully._

_Ryou blinked, and, for the first time, looked at her. "Doing what?"_

_She pointed at the airspace above his head. He glanced up, and to his immense surprise, the ball was hanging there, as though held by an invisible arm. Ryou put his book down._

_"I…" He was at a loss. "I don't think it's _me_…"_

_And at this statement, the ball decided to succumb to gravity again and dropped, bouncing off his head and rolling away down the lawn. The twins, however, were too preoccupied to laugh._

_"I think that means it was." Amane replied, in awe. "Ryou, the ball was floating."_

_"I know that!"_

_"It shouldn't."_

_"I know!"_

_"Well…" Amane hesitated, and then ran after the ball. Having retrieved it, she called to Ryou: "Try it again!"_

_"What?! I said, it wasn't me!"_

_"You don't know until you try." Amane pointed out, reasonably, and tossed the ball at her brother, hitting him in the face and rolling back to land at her feet. Puzzled, she threw it again, and, as before, it hit Ryou's head and bounced away._

_"Amane! Stop that!" Ryou protested._

_"It's not my fault." Amane tried, bending over to pick up the ball. "You _must _have done something. It's not my fault if you're not…" She turned back to face him. "Doing it." She completed, awed._

_Ryou, looking amazed himself, was watching as his book carefully, tentatively, floated up in front of him. He looked at his sister in shock, but the book did not fall._

_"I think… I think the air is listening to me."_

_Amane looked at him, in wonder and fear. Slowly, she smiled. "This is _so _cool…" Then she gasped. "Do you think _I_ could…?"_

_Ryou shrugged. "I didn't think _I _could! Here, try it!" He let the book fall. Amane placed it on the ground closer to it, and thought very hard about it floating, but it remained resolutely on the ground._

_"…Try to get the air to lift it up rather then getting the book itself to move." Ryou suggested after a painfully long time. "That's what I did. I think. If I can do it, I bet you can! Concentrate!"_

_Amane nodded. _

_But the book didn't move. It never moved._

_And so came the first thing that she and her brother could not share._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Serenity's head was in a whirl. Ryou was Masquerade. Now she had time to stop and think about it, it seemed inconceivable. Not so much that he _was _a 'superhero', but that one person could have so much stuff going on in their life. Restlessly, she rolled over.

"You okay?" Téa asked from the bed next to her. Both of them were being kept in overnight as a technicality, but they'd been moved to one of the general wards. Joey, however, was in the burns ward next door, and he'd probably be stuck here for a while. Dully, Serenity realised that her father was somewhere around the hospital to. What a family they were. All in hospital, and all as bored as could be.

"Fine, thanks." Serenity rolled over again, but it was pointless when she wasn't ill and wasn't in the least tired. Poor Ryou. He had lost his parents, and thought he had lost his sister; and yet, as soon as he had her back, someone sought to take that away from him. Her blood boiled. It was so unfair. What had he done that made him deserve to be so very…alone? She knew he was alone. He had his friends, but he was alone. He worked alone, and she was fairly sure that he _lived_ alone. What did it put a person through, to have everything he'd worked for taken from him? What did it take to go out there, put his neck on the line, and put himself in danger for the benefit of others? It took a lot… It took so much… Somehow, Serenity had always thought it took more then she had.

But she couldn't let him go alone. She swung her legs off the bed.

"Serenity, where are you going?" Téa asked her, carefully.

"Toilet."

"But you're taking your clothes…"

Serenity looked at her, holding her blackened clothes. Well, she couldn't be expected to save people in pyjamas, though she was sure she'd heard Masquerade had done it once. She tried to think of some lie, but could not. So she stood, silently begging. Trying to word it turned into a disaster. "Ryou… he…" Téa sighed.

"There's going to be a nurse coming round soon. You better get out of here quick, or she'll see you leaving."

"Téa…"

"I'll cover you."

Serenity smiled, and hugged the other girl. "You rock, Téa."

She laughed. "Go on, then!"

Serenity nodded, and dashed out of the room, ready to make her getaway. Téa turned to the old woman on her other side, who actually was ill, and had woken up just in time to witness the end of this exchange. She raised an eyebrow.

"Love." Téa explained.

"Ah."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The cavernous room was still, silent, in the warehouse at the forgotten end of town, right at the end of the row, on the left. The soul focus for the three occupants was the little clock, slowly ticking away the minutes. Even the small plane that shared their space could not distract them from the ever moving hands. Amane, sitting on the floor because it was easier with her hands and feet bound, watched it silently. Time was almost up, and he wasn't here. He had to get here.

The alarm rang out, bright and cheerful. 3PM. Miller slammed a hand down on it happily. ****

"He's not here!" He declared. "My, my, what a pity… Ah well. Time for stage two, I suppose…"

"Stage two?" Penelope asked, her voice tinny and small in such a large space, and the echoes failing to take the edge of fear from her words. "What's stage two?"

"The most wonderful stage of all!"

Penelope swallowed. "This wouldn't have anything to do with the… the plane, would it?"

"No, it's there to look pretty." Miller laughed, in unusually high spirits. "Yes, the plane, girl! What else?" He hurried over to it, and then said, in a monotone voice: "Passengers for the 3:15PM flight of Domino City please board now! This is the final call for the 3:15PM flight of Domino City!" Chuckling to himself, he walked back, as if on an afterthought, and casually hauled Amane up. "Well, you heard him, ladies! Let's climb aboard!" He did so, dumping Amane in the back before heading through a door that presumably lead to the cabin. As soon as he was gone, Penelope went to her friend, trying to unbind her. But the ropes were knotted tightly, and stubborn under her touch.

"This is madness…" She whispered, still struggling. "He can't possibly fly this thing…"

"Mmm…" Amane agreed.

But he could.

It was not an overly large plane, that was for sure. In fact, it reminded Amane of something as innocent as the Red Cross ones, that carried out aid parcels and dropped them to waiting, devastated, areas before. Indeed, the only feature of this room was a hatch in the floor, one seat, and, for some odd reason, what appeared to be the floating paper lanterns that were so popular at new year, and that Amane always thought were closer to balloons. Then, from the cabin, there came a noise. Penelope sprang away from the ropes tying Amane. She hadn't even managed to loosen them.

Miller, however, paid them no heed, as he pulled the door shut, humming happily to himself. Then he turned, and stopped dead when he saw Penelope.

"My dear, what are you doing back here?" He demanded.

"I-"

"You should be up front!"

Penelope gasped. "…Wha… what? But I don't…"

"Your dad's a pilot, isn't he? Surely, he's shown you a few tricks…" He wheedled.

"Um… yes, but I can't-"

"The autopilot will be on. You'll only have to make sure it's done the right thing." Miller pleaded, grabbing her arm.

"I told you, I _can't_!"

"Do it." Miller said. There was no friendliness in his voice now; just the tone of someone on the edge. There was steel in his voice, and in the gun he was pressing to the back of her head.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto looked down at Bakura's face, which stared back at his, looking for some shred of humanity that had long since disappeared. But Seto never did anything indecisively, at least not openly. He had been pleaded with. He had also been threatened.

He had made his decision.

He turned his back on Bakura, dropping the power over him.

"Go."

Bakura stood, but then hesitated. "Will… you be okay?"

Seto smirked. "I can handle it."

Bakura nodded, and headed towards the gaping hole that used to be the doorway.

"Bakura? This isn't over. Also…"

"Yes?"

"You forgot your mask."

"Oh."

As Ryou reached out to take the mask from Kaiba's hands, he couldn't help but notice the watch he was wearing. And, by some cruel twist of fate, the numbers chose that precise second to click gleefully over to 3:15PM. Ryou cursed violently, and snatched his mask. Kaiba conveyed his surprise by raising an eyebrow slightly.

"What now?"

"_At 3:15PM, the city will burn…_" Ryou muttered to himself, and then he sighed. "Great. Absolutely bloody fantastic."

"Oh, having a bad day?" Kaiba smirked.

"Don't start." Ryou warned. "This is your fault! I only had to get to the other end of the row! And if you hadn't delayed me…"

"Well, don't allow me to delay you any more." Seto shot back, becoming more irritated by the second; and, seeing the sense in his words, Ryou darted out of the relative darkness of the warehouse, and straight into Serenity.

His reflexes were surprising even to himself as he grabbed hold of her, stopping her from falling over. However, he was not impressed with the fact she was here rather then where she was supposed to be, and he was stressed enough. He said nothing, but his face said everything, and she gazed up at him sheepishly.

"Hi."

"Hello." He smiled slightly, but couldn't make it look real. "…What are you doing here, Serenity?"

"I'm here to help."

"Don't be stupid, Serenity, please." Ryou said, softly. "It's not that I don't appreciate the offer, it's just…"

"You don't think I can." She sighed. "You think I'm useless."

"No!" Ryou protested. "No, of course not! But you don't understand…"

"_You _don't understand." Serenity shot back. Suddenly, she waved an arm in front of his face; and as she did so, it changed. The colour instantly darkened, and it bent and stretched and twisted as though it was liquid. Ryou stared at it, surprised to say the least. Serenity sucked her arm back to it's normal shape. "…But, if you listen," She continued, smirking slightly, "Perhaps I can explain."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Serenity sat in her room, alone; so very alone. She was supposed to be asleep, but how could she? Her mom and dad had been arguing for so long, always kept shouting at each other, and now her mom had taken her away. She had left their dad and Joey behind, and when Serenity had asked, had only said they couldn't come. Somehow, Serenity knew this wasn't just a holiday. They wouldn't be going home. So she would never her brother again. It wasn't fair. Her dad was a bad man, but Joey hadn't done anything. They shouldn't have left him behind. And Serenity hadn't wanted to go anyway. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair._

_Her tears pooled and spilled over, but then evaporated on her cheeks, hot with rage, and she howled with anger. Why had her mom done this? How could she? It just wasn't right! And she'd never see Joey again! Joey had known it, to- that's why he had taken her to the beach. In anger, she kicked the doorframe. Immediately, her mom came running._

_"Serenity! What _are _you doing?!"_

_The girl gawped at her, standing stone still in the centre of the room. Her mom frowned. She was certain her daughter had kicked a wall or something, and yet Serenity was stood stock still in the centre of the room… Putting it out of her mind, she moved to hug the little girl, assuring her that she loved her, doing what she could._

_But Serenity wasn't listening. Somehow, she had just kicked the door- but she had not left this spot. Slowly, she stretched out an arm, and it just kept stretching until it bumped into the door. Serenity looked at it in an appalled fascination. Her arms stretched so far… Her mom shuffled, about to let go, Serenity, gasping, pulled it back, and waited for her mom to leave._

_Then the fun really began, as the young girl found she could stretch and twist her body into all manner of shapes. Long into the night she played, gasping with happiness as she discovered she could even change colour._

_But she didn't tell her mom. She'd keep it a secret from her mom, and that would teach her. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Shape-shifting." Serenity said, defiantly. "Well…Sort of. I can warp my arms and legs a little, but I never got it as good as it was the first time. I can change my face, though; I know that's not much, but… I'm out of practise. I thought it was freakish and weird… it kinda is… so I ignored it. and all those stories, all those books… I just wanted to distract myself from the fact that _I _really was like someone out of a book… But I was never brave enough to go out, do what you do, to try and help… until now." She looked him in the eye. "I want to help you."

"…Serenity, no." Ryou answered, slowly, pushing his surprise away. "You can't. You said yourself, you're rusty, out of practise… I can't put you in any more danger."

Serenity scowled. "You're not, I am. Amane's my friend to, and so are you, and I want to help however I can! I want to help."

"Ren…" Ryou tried. "I can't let you do…"

"Please." She said, quietly. "I want to… I want to help people. I want to use my powers like you do. I'm always relying on other people. Just this once… let me help?"

"I…"

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

Ryou said nothing, looking at her doubtfully. Not in doubt of her abilities or her determination, but in doubt of himself; if he would be able to handle it if she got hurt, or if he'd fall into more guilt that he'd been unable to crawl out of this time. And then there was the surprise at her words. _'You don't have to be alone anymore'_. But did she mean that he was-

"Look out!"

Instinctively, both of them turned towards the source of the noise- Kaiba, one eye blackened and looking a little worse for wear, was standing in the doorway of the warehouse, not looking impressed. With the speed that had made him famous in duels, he threw his arm out to the side, and the large, burning paper balloon that would have fallen on them had he not been there followed it's path, landing instead on top of one of the old warehouses, the old felt roof crackling and flaring up immediately. Ryou and Serenity gazed at it, both thinking how that could have been them.

"Idiot." Kaiba stated, aggravated.

Ryou let it pass. The fact of the matter was that his opponent was right. "Thanks."

Serenity, meanwhile, was facing her second revelation of the day. "Kaiba… him to?! Well… I… I guess it explains a lot…"

Seto glared at her, and then turned back to Ryou.

"Didn't you have somewhere to go, Bakura, or is it your intention to stand underneath falling balloons all day?"

"I'm going! Goodness!" Ryou snapped back. He took a step forward, and then hesitated. "That is… we're going."

Serenity smiled grimly, and nodded.

Seto rolled his eyes and turned away, apparently finding this scene too sickening to bother with, and disappeared back into his domain. Serenity did not spare him a glance as they ran along, Ryou pulling his mask on as he did so. Soon his face was covered, and he was ready for business.

But he wasn't alone anymore.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Their aim was clear. The balls of fire, drifting across the sky, came to an epicentre, spiralling out from a definite point of the sky. And it was no coincidence that above that point was a plane, crawling as slowly as death along the sky. Unfortunately, by the time Masquerade and his new accomplice arrived at the scene, things were well underway.

All over the city, the balloons were falling like deadly snow, and beneath them, hapless homes and businesses were succumbing to a fire unlike any scene since the Great Fire of London. Fire crews battled as best they could, but there was too much fire, and too few of them. Across the city, people began to panic and move listlessly about, or be stunned into paralysis, staring at the burning buildings or at the Kaiba Corporation HQ, which had always loomed over the horizon, but now was a huge column of fire, licking greedily at each window of the plush offices. Seto was _not _going to be happy when he found out. To the civilians of Domino, it seemed as though the whole world was burning under the fire that rained down from the sky, the most deadly precipitation. And so far, all the police could think to do was to stand about underneath it and shoot whatever ammunition they had up at it. Masquerade quickly spotted the chief of police and ran over to her. They let him past the barrier the moment they saw his mask. He was glad, in that case, no-one had taken to impersonating him yet.

"Not now, kid." Ayako said gruffly, barely glancing at him. "This is serious stuff, not petty theft."

Masquerade ignored the jibe. "There are hostages on that plane you're trying to shoot down." He said, coldly.

Suddenly, Ayako was listening. "Hostages? How many?"

"Two."

Ayako drew in breath, cursing. "The ones that went missing." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. Penelope Hightman and my- Amane Bakura. Innocents." Masquerade continued. "Stop the firing."

"Stop the _'firing'_?" Ayako echoed. "Kid, that's the exact reason we're shooting to begin with!"

"There are _hostages_!"

"I know!" Ayako shouted, showing stress for the first time. "But what do you suggest I do? Let him burn the entire city down?!"

"No! But…"

"It's not easy." Ayako said, suddenly. "Sometimes, you have to choose who to save. And everyone knows better then you. But, at the end of the day, you have to believe you're doing the right thing, or this job will kill you. And when it's a choice between lives… You have to save as many as possible." Regardless of her words, in the next lull between shots, she shouted "Try to damage it just enough to force him to land! We can deal with this a lot better at ground level!"

"It's me that he wants." Masquerade stated, simply. "He won't land for you, no matter how much damage you do."

"We have to try!"

"Let me go up."

"Stay out of this, Masquerade. Let the professionals deal with it."

"I _am _a professional!" Masquerade said, snapping suddenly. "All the fires, the disappearances, and now this… it's all to get to me! I _have _to go up."

Ayako glared at him. "Fine. I don't have the men to spare restraining you, this time. You're welcome to go up there if you can, but I'm not going to stop the guns."

Masquerade stared up at the plane, still dropping the deadly fireballs as though the supply was unlimited. Fairly soon, it would have moved out of the range of the police. But that would be too late; and at the moment, with all the projectiles buzzing around it, it was completely inaccessible.

He had to get them to stop shooting. He had to, or Amane was done for.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Up on the plane, Amane decided to take stock of the situation.

Penelope had been forced, at gunpoint, to go into the cockpit. The door was open, so if she tried anything funny, or so much as turned round, she would suddenly find she had a bullet as a nose piercing; despite the fact she did not know how to fly a plane. They'd have to hope the autopilot did its job.

Meanwhile, she was left alone in the compartment with the Pyromaniac and his gun, and he explained to her in delight the process. The paper contraptions were apparently based on the paper bombs used by the Japanese military in World War Two, but these ones did not explode. No, like mini hot air balloons, each had a small burner tied onto it, and would float until the paper itself caught fire. And then it would fall to the ground, lighting anything that would kindle beneath it. As he lit and tossed them out, he seemed in a state of permanent glee.

She herself was strung up, quite literally; her bound hands now tied around a hook in the wall that had probably once been designed to hold a stretcher of some sort. From there, she was standing right in the draft from the hatch, and had a wonderful view of what was going on in the world below.

This was_ exactly _why she hated flying.

In addition, Ryou, the local superhero, was nowhere to be seen. Amane hated to think what could have happened to him over the last few days; and knew that if he had missed the deadline, something was seriously wrong. Ryou had _never _underachieved in his life.

And yet, he wasn't here.

Of course, Amane had no intention of just waiting around to be rescued. The only hurdle she had was thinking of how, exactly, she was going to waggle out of this one. Ryou had always said she had a 'Houdini complex' when it came to getting out of situations she didn't like. But, today, inspiration escaped her. Something about the awful fires below, and the colossal wind blowing up through the hatchway, and the Pyromaniac throwing balloon after awful balloon out clouded her thoughts. She had _no idea_ what to do. Suddenly, Penelope shrieked. Amane tried to turn her head, but couldn't due to the position of the hooks. She cried out, but Penelope had already abandoned her post, and came darting into her line of sight.

"That was _my _house!" She shrieked. "You just dropped it on _my _house! My mom was in there, and my brother!"

"Causalities of war." He shrugged, levelling the gun at her. "Get back in there." He gestured towards the cockpit.

"No!" Penelope screamed. "I don't care anymore! Shoot me if you want to! This isn't right! I can't let you do this!"

"Penny, don't say that…" He wheedled. "I don't _want _to shoot you…"

"My mom. My brother." Penelope whispered. "I won't let you do this!" She suddenly launched herself at him, hurling her whole body towards him, landing a punch on his face before he grabbed her arm and twisted her around, and she dropped out of the hatch.

Amane stared at the spot where her friend used to be. The wind continued to whistle through the now empty hatch. The Pyromaniac began his methodical work again, as though nothing had happened; and the attack and throw had happened so quickly, Amane could almost pretend that her oldest friend had _not _just been thrown out of a plane.

Almost.

"You…" She hissed, but he did not turn around. "You… You're going to regret that. I'll make you regret that. _You killed her! You killed her! I won't forgive you! You killed her! I won't forgive you!"_

"Do keep it down." He said, tiredly.

Amane shook with rage, some long since dormant feeling stirring inside her.

"You killed her. I won't stand for that. You won't get away with it…"

She snarled.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey winced slightly, as, for the umpteenth time, he knocked his arm. Heavily bandaged now, they still hurt despite all the medicines and salves they'd rubbed into the raw burns. But, it didn't matter. It was better then burning to death, or letting his sister get hurt. Speaking of whom, why was she running down the corridor past the ajar door to the ward?

In an instant, Joey was on his feet. He grabbed his grubby trousers and shirt in his clumsy hands, pulling it on as he ran along. He had to find out where on Earth she thought she was going in such a hurry. But first, he had to find a suitably private spot to change out of the ridiculous hospital pyjama bottoms and into some _real_ trousers. Of course, by the time that was done, Serenity was some way ahead of him; and it was thanks to the Romans and their wonderfully straight roads that he was able to keep sight of her at all. She didn't really seem to know where she was going, but appeared to be running on instinct, running from something. Or towards something that she desperately wanted to reach but didn't know where it was. The clock on top of the museum boomed out that it was 3:00PM, loud enough for most of the city to hear, but it was all but ignored. Still, Serenity ran, on and on. Joey was impressed at her stamina. He couldn't even catch up with her…!

Sometime later, they had pounded right over to the other end of town. Joey looked up at the roof of one of the warehouses in disgust. It was peppered with holes, holes the rough size and shape of a yo-yo. **(1)** He shuddered involuntarily. This was not a place he cared to revisit. They had to get out of here. And yet, as he tore his gaze away from that hell-hole, he realised his sister had gone. He took a step forward, ready to find her and get her out of here, but then something distracted him. Looking up at the sky, he could just make out bright spots. Orange balls, looming larger and larger, like falling stars.

The only problem with that was the fact it was only 3:15 in the afternoon.

Before his eyes, one of the stars drew closer and became what appeared to be a burning paper lantern. It drifted a little, before settling on the roof of a warehouse a little further down the row. As he watched, the roof caught alight, going up like a leaking gas main. Cursing, Joey ran against his instinct and towards the burning building, somehow knowing that would be where Serenity was.

And, indeed, silhouetted in the flames and running past them, running further into the row of the buildings was his sister. But she wasn't alone. Running beside her was a masked man… although he looked to be little older then her.

There was only one person who wore a mask like that. Masquerade. Joey blinked. But what on Earth was he doing with Serenity…?

**(1- See Yu-Gi-Oh manga vol. 6. But, in short, a gang Joey used to be a member of wanted him back, and threatened him with the new craze- Yo-yos. I know it sounds dumb, but hey. They were yo-yos of DOOM. Anyways, after Joey gets beat up and Yugi almost strangled, Yami ends up with them on the roof or their disused warehouse; which is so old that a Yo-yo easily breaks through it. I'm sure you can imagine the result…)**

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You don't have to be alone anymore."

_Am I alone? I suppose… Now that Amane's gone again, I am. I guess that, for most of my life, I've been alone. I suppose that, by the time I was ready to make friends again, I was used to being a loner, and I didn't know how anymore._

_How pathetic._

_Of course, it wasn't always that way. Before I got the Ring. Before I got my powers. That was where it started falling apart. Because I always had to leave Amane behind. That was really the first time I really did anything independently. Or, at least, the first thing I did independently that Amane couldn't come and interfere with. My early childhood was a lot like that. Amane was my first friend, and we found the idea of being twins so cool that we wanted to be alike in every single aspect. Until we were six or seven, it worked to. After that… we started to build interests, interests that differed. But it was alright, because she had Penelope and I had Jay, and the four of us had a great group._

_And then, Monster World. And that was the end of that._

_That was, really, when I lost all my close friends. Even Amane was awkward around me- and who can blame her? I would give anything to have the same circumstances of those first thirteen years back, but, in some ways… I wouldn't. I'd love to see Jay again. I would love if it had never happened. But it's not all bad, at least not for me._

_Because how ever hard I find it to make friends, there are those that found me, and would not take 'no' for an answer. I know Joey was the one who, at first, was the most adamant about it, probably because I was seated next to him that first day. Maybe he took a liking to me because I ignored the girls that were telling me not to be 'contaminated' by him. Whatever it was, the whole group of them have proved to be great people. So I can't let Serenity down now; not when she's going so far beyond what she needs to. I can't let Amane down either. If she's still alive._

_3:15PM. I missed the deadline. I just hope I can reach them before anyone truly meets _their _deadline… _

_I have to. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: And there we have it. I don't really have much to say… Hopefully, the chapter speaks for itself. So, instead, I'll skip straight to the rhetorical questions!:

When the Trust catches up with Seto, can he _really _'handle it'? Now that we know Serenity has superpowers to- Surprise!- will she be able to help Ryou? Will they be in time? What will happen if Joey finds out? And what other surprises are in store…? Very little actually happens, but it's more flashbacks and it's more Seto-centric-ness in **A Superhero Story Chapter Thirteen- A Trust…**

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you then!


	14. A Trust

_A/N: Well, this would have been up Sunday afternoon, but due to some technical difficulities on this site... Meh. Here it is!_

A/N: An update, at last. As I believe I warned you, I am currently in the middle of what my drama teacher calls 'The Half Term from Hell'. Even though we're only building up to the Mocks rather then the real GCSEs, it's pretty tough; so, um… don't expect the next chapter for about another month. Thanks everybody!

As for this chapter, though, it's been a nightmare to write. All action. And I hate writing action sequences. Bleah. I do have FLASHBACKS though! Yay! Heh… I'm sorry, you've had to wait ages, and it's not the best chapter in the world… Meh. Here it is, anyways.

Disclaimer: I'm sick of typing these. Just assume it goes without saying from now on, okay?

We begin with a little look back at Penelope's final moments, and then we head into the darkness of another Seto-centric thirteen pages. Have fun…

Thirteen- A Trust

"My mom. My brother." Penelope whispered. "I won't let you do this!" She suddenly launched herself at him, hurling her whole body towards him, landing a punch on his face before he grabbed her arm and twisted her around, and she dropped out of the hatch.

The paper balloons, bright and cheerful in the smoke-filled air, turned and danced around her as she fell gracefully between them, the wind buoying them up and sending them swirling away. The sound of gunshots ceased, and, so high above the panic and disorder below, the only sound was the rushing of wind and the rejoicing sound of a solitary bird song, serenading her to her sleep. Penelope fell, wondering vaguely what she had done with her life, and wishing that things could have been how they used to, when life was so simple. It would have been nice to have talked to her brother again, just once more. She hoped Amane would get through this alright. But, as her few remaining seconds stretched, as endless as the fall before her, she could only wonder- Had she lived right?

Penelope fell through the suddenly peaceful air.

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"Didn't you have somewhere to go, Bakura, or is it your intention to stand underneath falling balloons all day?"

"I'm going! Goodness!" Ryou snapped back. He took a step forward, and then hesitated. "That is… we're going."

Serenity smiled grimly, and nodded.

Seto rolled his eyes and turned away, apparently finding this scene too sickening to bother with, and disappeared back into his domain. There was a man waiting for him there, lazing on one of the fallen metal shelves. Seto knew his name, and he knew what he was able to do. Little older than Seto himself, he had been there, aged only twelve, on the night of Tom Miller's attack. He had been one of the boys at the Orphanage, and even then you could tell what kind of kid he was; able to teleport and using it to pick on Seto's powerless brother. Amon Aiolos, who had not turned his back on the Trust.

"You again. I thought you'd given up when you and Tanith stopped stalking me." Seto stated, emptily. Amon sighed.

"Seto, you've let yourself down. Since when have you been batting for the good team?"

"I don't belong to a 'team'." Seto responded. "My reasons are my own. But what about you, Amon? Reduced to spying on me?"

Amon, standing a head shorter than Seto, with ruffled black hair and harsh, grey eyes, leered. "No, I just got here. When I saw Masquerade heading along past our building, well, I just had to follow him. He was pulled in here- and imagine my surprise when he came back out! You haven't done what was asked of you, Seto- Just like he suspected. Do you really think you'll get away with it?"

"Get out." Seto commanded tiredly. "You saw what I did to Masquerade. Even when we were kids, I beat you without even drawing on my powers. I am a telekinetic of prominence, and you are nothing but a teleport- a power for disappearing, hiding, running away. You don't stand a chance, and we both know it."

Amon shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You don't know what I've been up to- and into- these last few years. You could guess… but can you really be sure?"

Seto snorted derisively. "Talking and running. Your two sole talents, Aiolos."

"Oh, I'm _very _good at talking. I've kept you distracted long enough for some old friends to get here." He smiled, and gestured at the doorway, where two women and a man stood. Slowly, for their faces were in shadows, Seto recognised them.

"Oh, wonderful." He answered, easily. "A reunion."

Lloyd Sullivan and Aoi Motto stepped inside, followed a second later by Tanith Leto, a perfect copy of the old door appearing behind her, effectively closing them off from the outside world. Silence fell as the four slowly surrounded him.

"I warned you I'd ruin that pretty face, but from the looks of that black eye, I missed my chance." Tanith teased, waving a carefully manicured finger. "There's nowhere to run, Seto."

Seto calmly began to remove his coat, tossing it aside. He flexed his fingers slightly, trying to expel the hidden tension. "Who said anything about running?" He smirked.

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_The television, on quietly, was not so enchanting that Seto would have kept it on, if it wasn't for two factors. _

_His parents were out, and the light from the screen chased the darkness away. He and his brother were not yet _quite_ tall enough to reach the light switch, but he could use a remote control. Just as the light pushed away the darkness, the ten pm news pushed away the niggles that his parents should have been home hours ago, they'd only gone out for a few minutes, and how late it was…_

_"Seto?" Mokuba's anxious voice came in the doorway. He shuffled into the room, climbing awkwardly onto the tall sofa and nuzzling up to his brother. "I'm scared."_

'Me to'_, Seto thought, although, of course, he did not say so. He was too scared even to sleep, unlike Mokuba, who now feeling safe with someone bigger than himself, dropped off immediately. Seto wondered about dragging the toddler upstairs to their room, but thought better of it as he glanced out at the dark hall and shuddered. Mokuba had been very brave to come all this way on his own. Sure, they did it all the time, when their mom and dad were around to stop their late-night explorations. But now, it was something entirely different and more sinister. He shivered, and looked at the television again, where it was showing miles and miles of perfectly still traffic, like tombstones in the night. There had been some sort of accident on the main road to town. People had died. Seto shuddered some more. Death was in the air that night._

_"As you can see, cars have been abandoned and left they are; there are people just getting out and walking like some sort of great migration… Experts are saying that a faulty street lamp that had gone out, creating darkness at the junction, was to blame… Three people have been found dead; and now, their families have been informed, so we can give you their names… there was Trent Rowntree, a 36 year old Welsh tourist, and then, of course, there was the couple, pictured here…"_

_Seto did not need to hear the name as the picture of his parents filled the screen. He had seen this picture many times. Before his granddad had died, it had hung on his wall, a picture of his parents in some sort of bar for their anniversary. They were smiling. The picture was all wrong. How could they be smiling if they were…dead?_

_He felt numb. He couldn't feel anything. He would have been scared of this new state of nothingness if he could have felt some emotion. But he couldn't. His breathing became quick and shallow. Something was welling up inside him, billowing up inside him, under such pressure; his mind felt fuzzy._

_Seto screamed. Groaned. Cried. Made some noise, he didn't know what it was. The television flew across the room, hitting the wall. It woke Mokuba, who screamed, and looked at his brother fearfully, who was kneeling in the middle of the floor, his hands clamped around his head, shaking. _

_"Dead… Dead… They can't be dead! They're lying! They wouldn't leave us! They're not dead! They're not dead!"_

_The rage was cold, unforgiving, and as Seto screamed, Mokuba cowered behind the door, watching his brother go mad and the furniture fly around the room with some strange power._

_He wished his parents were here._

_But they weren't. It was just him and Seto. At least it was some small blessing that he was sufficiently young as to not remember the details for much longer. _

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"Do you have any _idea_ what he's going to do to you when he finds out?" Lloyd taunted, steely. He was tall, pale; with his eyes containing a manic delight at this predicament. "Do you _know _what he'll do to you when you fail to do what he says?"

"Probably whatever he'll do to you, if you're admitting you won't be able to 'deal' with me." Seto answered, tired of this idiotic banter already but unable to let him have the last word.

Luckily, Lloyd was not a patient man. He smirked, the grin growing wider as his canines grew long, curved and serrated. Seto did not so much as flinch. He knew this was not the only power the vampiric creature had. He'd have to be careful.

And then there were the others. There were four of them, and one of him. Some would call it impossible.

Seto called it a challenge.

Lloyd pounced, fangs bared, reaching straight for Seto's neck. He did not so much jump as float, seeming to traverse the distance between them directly through the air. Seto, who had been expecting the attack, ducked, sending the man sailing right over his head and rolling into one of his comrades.

Easy.

Almost… too easy, in fact…

Seto turned just in time. The illusion Tanith had placed over his mind of Lloyd's attack fizzled away as the real enemy launched an arm around his neck and held it there; Seto struggling but unable to get free.

"I've always longed to taste your blood…" Lloyd's voice was harsh and cracked in Seto's ear as his tongue was torn to shreds by his over sized teeth. Some of his blood fell, running unpleasantly down Seto's neck and pooling, a tiny crimson puddle of blood and saliva, on his collar. Seto frowned.

This was his best shirt.

Annoyed now, Seto decided it was time to play the real game. He may not be able to get free on his body strength alone against the supernatural muscle of the vampire, but when it came to powers… Lloyd's arm flew back from Seto's neck with an unpleasant cracking sound, followed by the man's entire body as he was thrown bodily across the warehouse. However, before he could crash into the wall, the floor rumbled and a large pile of soil rose up dramatically, breaking the creature's fall.

So. Aoi Motto had entered the game. She stepped forward.

Seto turned to face her, feeling disgust at her. He had lost his parents so young, and the very fact that there were people out there who could abandon their children as easily as this woman had just-

Shaking beneath his feet!

Seto managed to throw himself out of the way as a geyser of earth exploded up from where he had previously been standing. No more distractions. But the soil was not done yet, roaring up like a living being at it's master's will, catching Seto's back as he tried to scramble up and knocking him flat again. Before he could be completely buried, Seto pitted his concentration and will against it, pushing as a physical force. The dirt hung in the air, uncertain, and wavered, finally flying back towards Motto. She avoided it, glaring, but Seto had expected it. She stepped back, and he mentally grabbed her, tossed her unceremoniously across the room. Her screams fell silent as she crashed onto one of the gargantuan metal shelves, most large enough to park a small car on. She shuddered, but would not be a problem again for a while yet.

Seto turned, searching for his other opponents, but he could not see them. The warehouse was silent, still, the only movement seemingly the throbbing black eye Bakura had given him. They had not left, of that he was sure. Almost certainly, Tanith had put up another of her illusions, showing him an empty warehouse. The question was, was this illusion wrapped just around his mind or around the building itself? And where, and when, would they strike again? The warehouse was not empty. It just looked and sounded like it. He closed his good eye, listening. There! A footstep. The illusion was on the warehouse, not on his mind. He wasn't being forced into imagining things, it was just tricks being played on his eyes. Luckily, not on his ears. There had not been any more footsteps. That almost certainly meant Lloyd was flying down upon him now, like an owl, silent, deadly. No, like a bat. A bat that would always call out at the last moment, to make sure the prey was where it was supposed to be when it sunk it's teeth into the living skin, with echolocation that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Rather like they were doing… now.

He ducked. The man with the powers of a vampire, common but horrid powers, a curse to those that embraced them, descended to the ground, hissing angrily. He charged forward, but here on the ground, with no illusion between them, Seto evaded easily. He grabbed hold of the muscular arm and tossed him the normal way, straight into Amon, who had just materialised behind him, ready to grab their inconsiderate victim. The two fell, a hissing, shouting tangle. Tanith's sharp laugh reverberated around the room.

"Seto, Seto, Seto…" She said, the three repeats due to the fact there were now three of her. Two were surely illusions and the third the real deal. They spoke in usion now. "Go on, attack, I dare you. Try your luck."

Seto raised an eyebrow. He also attempted to lift all three of them. It was difficult. Just as Tanith couldn't really cast many separate illusions, he could not concentrate on many separate things. Of course, you can't lift what isn't really there.

"Seto, put me down!" Tanith begged, dropping the illusions immediately. "Don't throw me Seto! Please, don't!"

Seto ignored her pleas, knowing full well the woman was completely terrified of heights. He dropped her onto one of the top shelves, above where Aoi Motto was beginning to stir, with one heck of a headache. The two looked down as Lloyd began to approach Seto again, suddenly breaking into a run. A foolish move, but he was too angry now to be thinking. The youngest, but possibly most powerful, hero in the room, side stepped him, and then sent Lloyd crashing into another wall with an awful clang. He was lucky his bones were as strong as they were. The average man would have had bone in his brain. Seto knew he did not have long, and was prepared to make a tactical retreat for now, until he could be more on his own turf. He took a step back.

Amon was suddenly behind him, his arms around Seto's neck, attempting to strangle him. Seto cursed mentally. Four of them, and one of him- and only one eye, to, as the other was still slowly swelling. Not that was his largest problem. It was just hard to concentrate when his air was being cut off. He couldn't focus enough to use his powers at all…

He saw them all closing in on him, surrounding him. Lloyd bared his teeth, a cruel, jagged grin, as Seto choked. He normally carried a dagger, but what use did he have for one when he could use his teeth? There was something so much more satisfying about sinking his own fangs into the flesh, just above the pulse, where the all the right juices would flow, where the pulse was strongest and the skin most tender… But Amon was choking him. Taking out all the air, the very texture and flavour, cooling the food, taking out the rhythm. He leant forward, his broken tongue rasping desperately.

"Amon." He begged. "Amon. Let me have him, Amon. Amon, I must feed, Amon. Let me drink first, Amon."

"He's gone blood-crazy again." Tanith sniffed, dismissing it. "Just finish him off, Amon, and try not to leave too many marks." She blinked down at Seto's face. "I'm impressed. He's hanging on a long time."

"He always has. Stubborn son of a…" Aoi stated, uninterested. "Get on with it, Amon."

"Amon! I need blood!" Lloyd cried, despairingly, as Seto's knees gave way. "I must have blood or I will not have my strength! You need me! I am in charge here! If I do not have blood, I will not fly or-"

Amon sighed. "Whatever. I can't stand seeing you so pathetic." He shoved Seto towards his consumer. "Just do it fast. And don't spill any. We have to make it look like suicide."

But Lloyd was no longer listening. He ran his tongue over his teeth, not even wincing as the flesh caught and tore. The taste of blood was good. It was life. It was good…

However, they had forgotten that Seto had no intention of going quietly.

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_Ever since Seto's parents had been found smouldering on the side of the motorway, there had been a lot of things Seto had been unsure of. He was unsure of how his life would turn out, if he would be able to keep his promise to his brother and not use his powers again, if he would survive past his next birthday. Sometimes, especially as he completed Gozaburo's tasks with beaten in ruthlessness, he wasn't even sure who or what he was. But he did know that other people were all out for something. They all wanted something, and if you had to give it to them, you had to get something good in return. Or you just did not give it to them._

_Ever since his parents had been found to be suffering from death, Seto had not been able to trust anyone, not even himself. He and his brother had been passed from person to person like a parcel with a blurred address. Some regarded him as some sort of letter bomb, in fact- but perhaps if they ignored him, he'd go away. Others had tried to rip open the packaging, get out what was inside and use it to their own advantage; if Seto liked it or not. He was well used to be exploited. Even at the orphanage, they had tirelessly tried to convince to use his powers, that they could train him to use them for 'good'. Seto might have believed them, but he always remembered Mokuba's face that night when he'd first found what he could do. Nothing that could scare his brother that badly could possibly be right. Or could it? The doubt ate at him. Perhaps, just perhaps, if he used his powers, he could be a real part of the orphanage 'family'. Train with the other children. Play with them. Fight on an equal level when they picked on Mokuba, use something stronger and all together more powerful than his fists._

_But he couldn't. He'd promised. And that was why he'd left at the first chance, with the first man who would take his powerless brother in to, who did not know what the orphanage 'specialised' in. He had leapt on a chance and clung to a hope that had slipped quickly from his grasp, wrenched away by the tyrant that now ruled them. Seto worked tirelessly, worked until he was just a shell, worked till he could remember every fact and figure but nothing, nothing, of the boy his parents had taught him to be. There was nothing for that boy, that boy who wanted to belong, in this world. He knew it, and he kept it close to his cooling heart; like larva slowly, tediously cooling to stone; as this man sat before him and spoke decorated words._

_"Seto, I'm your social worker. I can get you out of here, away from him."_

_Seto said nothing. If he was doing his job, they would have left long ago. And there would not have been a catch._

_"But last time, you and your brother were… well, dead weight. You have to use your powers, Seto. Otherwise-"_

_"I'm worthless?" Seto guessed._

_"I never said that." The man answered, but did not seem in the least sincere, and made no move to deny that had been what he meant._

_"I am not worthless." Seto informed him, calmly. "I'll show you. I'll be great, and I will not use my powers. I'll prove it. I don't need them. I am _not _worthless."_

_"Seto, please!" The man pleaded. He was frustrated now. They were sure after a few months with this awful man Seto would have done anything to go back to where he was at least fed without having to recite A Level physics. They'd expected him to have had his spirit broken, for him to be timid and broken. Instead, he stood before them, not like a child, but like a man who's heart had turned away from the world. He seemed to be waiting, biding his time, as though his heart had frozen for now but would thaw when it was good and ready. His mouth held danger in his smile, and as he stood, stiffly, slowly, used not to movement but to sitting cramped over a desk all day. But he did not stand defeated. He stood in anticipation. The man grabbed hold of his arm, preventing him from leaving. Seto glared up at him, and tried to pull away. He could not._

_"Go on, Seto." The man taunted. "You and I both know you can get away if you use those powers of yours. Without them, you're trapped, helpless."_

_Seto bit his lip, struggled, but could not pull free. Not until he moved forward, and began to crawl under the man's chair. Either he let go or he came down with him. The man let go, laughing._

_"You're a fighter, I'll give you that. That's just what we need. Come with me." It was supposed to be an order._

_"I'm sorry." Seto answered, not looking back as he headed out of the door. "I have work to do, so I have to go. But know this- I'm _not _for sale. I won't be used anymore. And I _won't _let my powers out. Never." _

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In his last moment of consciousness, Seto felt the fingers loosen around his throat, and felt himself pushed forward. In that instant, air filled his lungs again and that instant was all he needed. He was off balance from the shove, but he used that to his advantage now, bending so his head butted the man in the stomach. Lloyd had a stomach of steel, so it could not really hurt him, but it caught him off guard, and gave Seto the chance to regain his balance, ignoring the resultant headache. He was going to come out of here with a few bruises, that was for sure.

"You…" Lloyd snarled, his voice barely understandable. He took to the air, leaping as only he could. Hastily, Seto caught him in his mental net and, as usual, set him flying across the room and into one of the reinforced metal walls. The poor things could not stand up to such a beating and the abnormally strong man went punching through it like a bullet, leaving jagged hole. And not even a vampire man would get up from that one. Not for a good few minutes, anyway. Before he even had time to catch his breath, Seto found himself being turned around. Aoi Motto, a cold grip on his arm, stared into his eyes. She had regained consciousness and simply brought the ground up to meet her, and so climbed down. She seemed about to say something, but seemed to change her mind. She spat instead, into Seto's good eye, and released him as the ground opened to swallow him, the earth rising like waves to clear a space, a hole, a pit, in the warehouse. As the hole in the floor rumbled open, she came to a sudden realisation that he still had a hold on her arm. He began to slide backwards, towards the chasm, as the ground sloped up beneath them. But he wouldn't let go, and neither would she.

"Drop it." He commanded. "If I fall down there, I'm taking you with me. Drop it."

"Why not just use your powers?" She shot back. "I'm not letting go. Save yourself, and save me to. You're not willing to die just to kill me."

"Neither are you."

The ground was still sloping up, tipping them towards the black pit. Now it was just a battle of wills. They began to fall backwards. Seto had sensed a change in their gradient. It was not becoming any steeper. She was hesitating. He braced his feet, but she continued to slide, ever closer to the hole, until his grip stopped her.

Seto let go. But he, to, was beginning to slide towards that black maw. She smirked up at him, only stopped from slipping over the rim of the hole by the fact Seto was clinging on and she was clinging onto him. Tanith and Amon looked on, seeming a little tired of this, waiting until they could have their turn again.

"Come on, Seto. Give in. I know you have no intention of dying here." Aoi tried again. "Give in."

"No." Seto replied. "I'm not going to die here." He focused on her hand, clamped around his arm, and forced the fingers to slacken, to release their grip.

Aoi realised she was about to topple in and instantly began to release the earth from the waves they were riding upon to fill the hole in again, but it was not quick enough. She fell in, and the ground fell on top of her. Seto came back into contact with solid land again, looking emotionlessly at the place where the hole had been. He turned to face Tanith, who had by now managed to climb down, and Amon.

"Those two were the offensive force." Seto informed them, plainly. "Are you going to fight me to?"

Tanith shrugged. "I'm just here to cover up the mess. You take your time, babe."

"You ought to know something about us." Amon said, quietly. "Particularly about Lloyd."

"Oh?"

"He refuses to die."

Seto whipped around as the serrated fangs were so close to his neck he could smell the blood on them. But it was Lloyd's own blood. He had not feed for some time. His powers were waning, and he was hungry. Seto almost pitted him. The vampire's powers- of strength, of flight, bones of steel and muscles that never tired- were one of the few powers that came with a price. If they did not take regular living blood, they would fade. Most turned their backs on their powers, ignored them until they went away, and lived a normal life. Lloyd had not. But it was a choice. His choice. Lloyd liked the taste of blood, and liked the power it gave him. Seto could not afford him sympathy. He jumped out of the way.

Something grabbed his ankle. Seto glanced down in shock. It was like something from a horror movie. The ground was slowly cracking open, and now, worming out of it, was Aoi's hand. It could take a while before she was completely free, but she didn't seem to have any intention of letting go. These people were not natural. The ground seemed to be fighting to be keeping her beneath it, her movements pained and slow, but she was climbing out, climbing back from the below the ground like the worst kind of zombie. She had nothing lose, and Seto's tired mind could not forced her to let go. Tanith and Amon both came and pinned one of his arms each.

"Well, isn't this nice…?" Lloyd rasped, taking a step forward. Seto looked at the ground, defeated, shaking. Lloyd took another step forward, anticipating that sweet nectar. He lifted Seto's chin, in order to reach his neck. He saw the boy's eyes. They was no emotion in those eyes, no hint of the rage. No iris or pupil or white. They seemed to be glowing, a glistening white, power running through the veins. And then the power exploded. The four of them were tossed aside, Aoi right out of the planet itself, shelves were torn from their bases and clanged against the walls, one section of the roof was pulled down with an almighty crash, leaving swirling debris, and even the very earth beneath the concrete floor seemed ready to tear free of it's roots. Seto Kaiba had entered berserker mode.

The moment passed. Panting from exertion, sweating from the loss of control, Seto knelt on the floor, exhausted. He looked around at the carnage he had caused, and cursed himself mentally. He'd done it again. He struggled to his feet, with the mind to get away, and then felt the hand clamp down on his shoulder. Amon had rematerialised behind him, and though also looking tired and worn, smirked.

"You and me, Seto, like old times."

No choice.

Seto flung a punch towards Amon, who caught it in the face and stumbled backwards, and then charged, a flurry of hits and kicks and punches wherever he could land them; with no method or thought. This was no longer a battle of powers, but a battle of physical strength. Seto didn't feel as though he had either. He tried to focus his mind, to toss Amon away, but it just wasn't there, he'd done too much when he had thought himself done for. It was all he could do to raise an arm to guard himself and throw the occasional punch or kick back.

Both were tired as they choreographed their intricate and malicious dance across what remained of the floor, each spurred on only by an age old feud that had spawned from when Amon had beaten Mokuba and Seto had beaten him. It seemed to wear on, beyond thought, beyond conscious decisions, just lashing out and being hit. They leapt over broken shreds of metal and concrete, ducked under scraps of the collapsed roof, stumbled over the slowly stirring Trustees. Still, they fought on. Aiming for Amon's stomach, Seto numbly realised that Amon had not been involved in fighting the others as he had. He was tired and could not keep this up for much longer. He was going to be beaten, he knew that.

But he could not accept it. He had to go down fighting. He pushed his tired legs and arms on, and on, until they would not fight any more.

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_It had been the usual evening of barely veiled threats, boasts and small talk that came with a corporate business party. As far as Seto was concerned, the two words should never be mixed. As he waited on the stairs, finally ready to go, he stared out of the window at the London skyline, watching Big Ben chime another hour. He wondered what time it was in Tokyo, and if Mokuba was enjoying the time without their stepfather around. Probably not. The butler was left in charge, and Mokuba, usually ignored, was probably being worked harder then ever. Seto couldn't wait to go home. But right now, he couldn't wait to leave this party; even if, on some level, he was grateful for the break from work. He never had holidays. He'd been quite surprised to learn it was almost Christmas. He'd known it was winter, of course, but he'd lost track of the days long ago. He didn't know that his days were supposed to be numbered, and that a butcher lay in wait for him on the stairs._

_"Seto! Hurry up, or I'll leave you here on this god forsaken Island and go back to Japan alone!" _

_Seto jumped at his stepfather's voice, and tore his gaze and thoughts away from the skyline. He took one last look at the Thames, sorely tempted to jump in as he heard Gozaburo walking away, still complaining._

_"That kid! I bring him all the way out here to see how real business is done, and the ungrateful brat just stands in a corner all night, moping, and speaking only to correct his betters…!" _

_Gozaburo was leaving. Seto could just stay here, and not move. Find a new life in London. For a second, he was tempted by the sweet taste of freedom, but it passed. He could not leave Mokuba, and that, perhaps, was the reason the boy had not been brought on this trip. Sighing, he headed down the next set of steps, until it turned a corner, hastening after his master._

_"…Seto?"_

_There was a man standing by the telephone box on the landing. Seto glanced over at him, sure he didn't know him, but paused in his step._

_"I… I have to…"_

_Seto began to move away, half-knowing what was under that jacket, and what purpose it served, and half curious. He couldn't help but hope this was someone to take him away, to get him out of here, to rescue him and his brother… But the hope had long since gone from him, replaced by a careful cynicism. He began to move towards the stairs, but not fast enough. The man pulled out a knife, and advanced towards Seto; backing him into a wall. Seto had no choice but to die._

_He looked up into the man's eyes, saw the uncertainty there, and suddenly, he knew. He knew that this had not been the man's choice. He knew the guy had everything to lose. Seto closed his eyes, perhaps a gesture of forgiveness, perhaps acceptance, perhaps something else entirely. He was resigned. He had known since he had refused the trust that it had to happen one day. In some ways, it felt quite peaceful. Life had not been wonderful to him, but it wouldn't be troubling him much longer. He hoped Mokuba would have the sense to escape from Gozaburo. He'd have no reason to stay. _

_Why hadn't the man done it yet? Get it over with…_

_"I…" His attacker faltered. There was the sound of breaking glass, and the pressure of the man's arms left his. Seto opened his eyes. This was quite unexpected._

_A guy in a mask was on top of his would-be killer, pinning him down. The attacker was crying silently. The masked face turned towards Seto._

_"Phone the police. You know the number?"_

_Seto did not answer, stabbing '999' into the phone next to him. It was at this point Gozaburo decided to reappear._

_"What is _going on _here?!" He demanded, blustering._

_"He tried to kill me." Seto stated, as though saying it was raining, and then turned to talk to the police._

_Gozaburo stared down at the mask. "And you? You're that hero vagrant I've been hearing about, aren't you?! I'll thank you not to interfere!"_

_"Your son almost died!" The hero answered, angrily._

_"He is _not _my son."_

_The words meant nothing to Seto as he hung up. He looked down on his attacker, his face expressionless._

_"They're going to kill you, lad." The broken man whispered. "At whatever cost, they will kill you."_

_"They have to beat me first." Seto responded, but he shuddered internally. It was just a matter of waiting now. Waiting until they tried to kill him again, and living until they succeeded. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto's legs finally gave up the struggle and buckled, Amon forcing him down, kneeing his stomach, his neck, his face. He saw them surrounding him as he fell to the floor, but then his eyes collapsed to, and he was helpless; lying on his back on a cold cement floor, far from any hope of rescue, surrounded by people that wanted to kill him. He could not hear what they were saying, and could not sense their movement, his body too tired to feel. It was quiet here, so quiet. It seemed a good time to review the situation.

He had no idea how he had ended up in such a precarious position. He should have just stopped Bakura and been done with it. His moral values had certainly chosen their moment to reassert themselves. He had certainly had them, once. He struggled to remember that time, back before the Orphanage and Gozaburo and the Trust, back when he was a child. And then his parents had died, and once things started to go wrong, they did not stop. He'd made plenty of mistakes in his time. Things had finally snowballed out his control. He had sworn not to serve the Trust. He had sworn that he would not use his powers that had caused so much damage at his home and nearly broken his relationship with Mokuba. He'd stuck to that religiously- until now. He had thought he could make it on his own, without his powers, but without them he had only gone so far. He'd given in and let them out. He had always known his powers would be his downfall. Now he had broken his promise to his brother. He had used his powers, and he wouldn't be able to protect Mokuba anymore as a result. All he could do was lie there and wait. As the blackness before his eyes slunk into his mind, shutting it down, he knew he would not wake up. All he could do was let himself fall unconscious, and wait for them to do their thing. There was just too many of them.

He had failed. For the first time, he had failed. And there would be no making up for it.

The Trust were beginning to finish with him, their eyes set on a greater prize- Masquerade. Seto had taken longer than expected, too long. If the hero stopped the Pyromaniac before they did, the Japanese Government would have been saved for free. And that would not do. Ignoring Seto's motionless body for the moment, they began to head towards the exit.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"We need to get up there." Masquerade said, frustrated. He and Serenity had withdrawn slightly, watching the police shoot in futile hope at the plane drifting leisurely across the sky above them. "When will they realise this won't work?! I'm tempted to fly up there regardless…"

Serenity gripped his arm fearfully. "Ryou, you can't. You'll get shot."

"I'd like to see them try." Masquerade snarled back, but was defeated. He knew the police wouldn't stop now, and his arm was protesting from the last time it had almost been shot. The wound was still tender, and seemed to pick it's moments to hurt whenever he was in the most trouble. It was painful now. "But I can't just-"

"What the _hell _is that?!" Ayako screamed. "Stop the guns! Stop the guns!"

The two looked up at where the Police were gawping, and then saw her. Falling, between the small hot air balloons, a girl. Falling fast. To her death.

There was nothing to be done. People began to shout, move around, but what could they do. With a jolt, Masquerade realised it was Penelope. Then, suddenly, he seemed to wake up, and tugged on the air around her, making it thicker, slowing her fall; but the air had to come from somewhere and there was only so much he could do without suffocating anyone. Desperately, just as he had for the girl preparing to jump off the Remington Bridge all those months ago, he pulled every once of air lurking beneath the road, roaming uselessly in the sewers and drains, up and forming a soft, springy cushion. Penelope fell onto it, and as she shakily climbed to her feet, he let it drop. She looked over at him, meeting his eye for a second, and then began to silently cry.

"You okay, Miss?" Ayako asked, pushing towards her. Penelope ignored the police chief, shoving past her, and heading over to Masquerade. The chief looked like she wanted to stop her, but then gave up. "Okay, these guns aren't working! We need a new strategy! Hiwari, Minida! Get over here and tell me what you've got…"

"Ryou…" Penelope whispered, now they were out of ear shot. "…Why… why did you have to do that? Why did you save me? It was me- I was the one who got Amane kidnapped, the one that put everyone in danger… and you, you… you were supposed to be evil. It was supposed to be for the greater good. How can I… believe you're evil if you just keep… saving me and… and…"

"We've all made mistakes." Ryou said, from the safety behind his mask. "…I'm sorry for what happened to your brother."

Penelope shook her head. "It… it wasn't your fault."

Ryou said nothing, but relief flooded him. His mouth dry, he tried to speak. "I… I'm so glad… I've been feeling so guilty."

"We've all made mistakes." Penelope repeated his words, her voice stronger now. "Ryou… Forgive me?"

"As long as you don't hate me any more."

"I just needed someone to blame. I'm sorry."

"There's no need. I'm sorry…"

Penelope shook her head, and then hugged him; relief at having her old friend back running through them both. Her brother was unobtainable, but Ryou and Amane had always been the next best thing. Two out of three wasn't bad. "Man, I've missed you. It's been hard to hate you. But… it will never be like it used to be, will it?"

"No."

"…Let's go get Amane, and get on with our lives."

"Now you're talking."

She released him, and Ryou immediately turned to Serenity, who had turned away in slight embarrassment and, perhaps, even resentment. She looked at him reluctantly, but inside his mask, she could not read his expression. If she could, she would have seen that he was worried; but it was a harsh worry that knew no fear, a new recklessness with very little to lose.

"Ready?" He asked her.

"Yes."

"Alright." The three looked up at the jet above them, and silently wondered what would befall them within it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey saw them, the three of them, standing looking at the plane. Masquerade, Penelope, Serenity. He saw Penelope hugging the hero, but could not hear the words. He knew they planned to go up on that plane, and he had half a mind to intervene and stop his sister doing such a crazy thing. But he was beginning to realise that she had to fight for herself. Besides, Penny and Masquerade would look after her.

Especially if Masquerade was who his disbelieving brain was beginning to figure he was.

Joey may have been allowing Serenity to do what she had to do, but that didn't mean he didn't intend to help. He took a step forward as Masquerade began to move.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_There is a time for everything under Heaven. That's what I'm told. There's a time to cry, Serenity told me that. There's a good reason to cry. You have to, sometimes._

_But there is a time to stop crying. That time is now. There's a time to stop thinking and just act. There's a time just to stop._

_And go._

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A/N: Ah, I have to go out kinda now, which is why the monologue is so short. _(Sweatdrop) _My bad, but I really want to update… Anyways, moving swiftly on:

Amane still thinks Pyro killed Penelope- what lengths will she go to for revenge? What lengths _can _she go to when chained to a wall? What will become of poor Seto… and his brother? On the subject of brothers, just what _are _Joey and Ryou going to do next? Will they survive doing it? Join me for the penultimate chapter- **A Superhero Story Fourteen- A Rebel…**

Thanks for reading:D


	15. A Rebel

A/N: Well chaps, I have OFFICIALLY had my first day off, and so I have a new chapter for y'all- yes, I really DON'T have anything better to do with my life. Well, I have done other things today, which is probably why it's a little shorter than normal, but let's not worry about that. It's the Christmas holidays, yay!! That means my exams are OVER, but so is the awesome trip to London we prefects got yesterday. _(Sob) _It was so much fun… Even if I did think, for a few happy moments, that I could go in, FREE, to the International Manga and Anime Festival. Alas, it was not to be. _(Sob again) _It matters not! It was still a fantastic day! Oh, and I shall dedicate this chapter to my good pal **Scooby2408, **despite the fact she hasn't read this for a while, for helping me with my fear of heights that only comes upon me when I'm standing on the ground looking how high we go; but, oddly, not when we are up there. Heh. Read her fic, yo, if you dare- because I'm so OBVIOUSLY the star. Not that Alyssa's totally like me, but yeah.

Disclaimer- I'm too lazy to make these original anymore.

I must apologise for making you all read the scene where Penny falls out of the plane _again. _I promise, this is the last time. ;) Besides, Mokuba FINALLY puts in an appearance, and, as a bonus, there's even one from Tristan! Plus FORESHADOWING! Can I please have points for effort?

Fourteen- A Rebel

_As discussed in the previous chapter, it does appear that no man-made method can 'create' a superhero, but rather that it is something already present in the blood or genetics of the 'hero' themselves. Like many cases of genetics, it seems to run in families or present in those under certain conditions. However, these 'powers' are usually found dormant, the result of which is that most people who have the potential be 'heroes' may never know; which would certainly explain the rarity of them. Even so, sometimes powers do not present themselves naturally, but, like some mental illnesses, appear to awaken in times of extreme emotional activity or when placed under sudden, climatic, duress. This suggests that the abilities lie in the brain, of which we use so little, and that, if the right key could be found, we could unlock the powers to improve everyone's lives. _

_**From the controversial paper entitled "The Natural Abilities of 'Super' Heroes"; by Prof. Kiyoshi Bakura, who gambled his entire career on this theory- and lost.**_

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"My mom. My brother." Penelope whispered. "I won't let you do this!" She suddenly launched herself at him, hurling her whole body towards him, landing a punch on his face before he grabbed her arm and twisted her around, and she dropped out of the hatch.

"_You've got nice names." The girl said. "Mine's Penelope."_

Amane stared at the spot where her friend used to be. The wind continued to whistle through the now empty hatch. The Pyromaniac began his methodical work again, as though nothing had happened; and the attack and throw had happened so quickly, Amane could almost pretend that her oldest friend had _not _just been thrown out of a plane.

_"You're… you're lying…" He said, uncertainly. "No-one can hear anyone else's thoughts!"_

_"We can." The four said together. "And sometimes… We can hear _yours_, to."_

Almost.

"You…" She hissed, but he did not turn around. "You… You're going to regret that. I'll make you regret that. _You killed her! You killed her! I won't forgive you! You killed her! I won't forgive you!"_

"Do keep it down." He said, tiredly.

_"But it could be a trap." Penelope pointed out. "…Or, it _could _be a good thing. He gives us good things sometimes to." She looked at Ryou for a clue, but he merely smiled, giving none. "Graah… Now I'm curious to…"_

Amane shook with rage, some long since dormant feeling stirring inside her.

"You killed her. I won't stand for that. You won't get away with it…"

She snarled.

"_It says that you stay in the game forever." Ryou read out from the text on screen. Then, almost thoughtfully, he added "To stay forever in Monster World, with no escape, and no way back to friends, or family, or life as you know it… Trapped."_

_"I what?" Jason asked, before suddenly falling over the box they were using as a table, scattering polythene trees in his wake._

Pyro turned at last at the scratched, rough, almost inhuman sounds being forced out from the dark sections her heart and gurgling out of her throat at last, snarling, gasping, growling. She knew from his face that something was happening. He looked terrified, but to her it was wonderful, and she opened her arms to embrace it. It was power. Power she'd known was locked away inside her somewhere that was at last coming to help her.

_Amane placed the book on the ground closer to her, and thought very hard about it floating, but it remained resolutely on the ground._

_"…Try to get the air to lift it up rather then getting the book itself to move." Ryou suggested after a painfully long time. "That's what I did. I think. If I can do it, I bet you can! Concentrate!"_

_Amane nodded. _

_But the book didn't move. It never moved._

The hair on her arms and neck was standing on end. No, it was bristling. Growing. So too were her fingers, cruel, serrated blades forming from them, and she used them to slice through the ropes that bound them as her muscles tensed and gained strength. She smiled in cold delight at this new found power as her mouth began to stretch out of proportion, allowing her teeth to become the shape for a carnivore. The strength of the moon was flooding her, and even as she stood, half wolf, half human, some grotesque mutation half way between, she knew exactly what she was going to do with them.

He had killed Penny, and he could not be allowed to get away with it.

_"Don't worry." Ryou repeated firmly._

_"I don't." Amane assured him, sighing. "I just hate being left behind." Then she shrugged, as Ryou hesitated. "Go on then, Faceless! Go catch yourself another criminal!"_

Now it was her turn to be the hero.

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Seto awoke slowly, trying to decide what his head felt like. Eventually choosing that it felt as though his brain was being fed slowly into a cement mixer, he dragged his dry, bruised eyes open, the dull light stinging them, the lids feeling like sandpaper scraping back into his head. But this was no time to be feeling sorry for himself, and he certainly didn't intend to let it get in his way. Not that he had much of a choice. He was weak, awfully so, hardly able to maintain consciousness. He was surprised he had woken up at all. First of all, he had been beaten badly, so he shouldn't have woken up so quickly- although this could have been a result of his powers, and he couldn't see or think straight right now, so who was he to judge the time?- and then, of course, there was the fact he was still alive. He didn't understand why they appeared to have chained him up, his arms being held up limply above his head, instead of killing him. It was all surprising, but, luckily, he once again had the pleasure of Amon's company, and he would undoubtedly explain what was going on.

The man walked leisurely towards his prisoner, and lifted Seto's head, forcing him to look at him.

"Enjoying yourself, Seto?"

Seto did not take easily to this. If his mouth were not so dry, barren, cracked, he would have spat into the foul thing's eye. He had lost his soul long ago, and was no longer a man.

Seto only hoped that did not apply to him to. What happened next assured him it did not.

"Have you accepted it now, Seto? Has it finally sunk in? Do you see that without your powers, you're _nothing_? That without the Trust, you'll get nowhere except death? You're on your last chance- give in. Give up. Join us."

Was that it? They wanted him alive? But, then why…?

"No…" He whispered, wishing his voice would come out stronger.

"Still need convincing? Well, luckily, we came prepared…" Amon laughed cruelly, and wrenched Seto's head to the side. "Take a look, Seto. Take a good _long _look!"

"Mokuba…I…" Suddenly, Seto became terribly aware of the lies he had told Mokuba over the years, too ashamed of what he'd done in the past to reveal his powers even to the only one he could trust. Well, if he hadn't known before, his brother certainly did now. Mokuba, sweating, bleeding from the corner of his mouth and forehead, smiled weakly.

"Hey, Big Brother…" He said, softly. Seto saw pity, worry, fear, in those eyes. He must be in a bad way to have Mokuba look at him like that. "Don't you worry, Seto. I'll get us out of here."

"I wouldn't bet on that, squirt." Amon replied gleefully, running his finger along the edge of the blade he was holding. It drew blood even from that most delicate of touches, and he brought it to bear on Mokuba's neck. The boy bit his lip, shying away as much as he could from the knife, but it was no use. Mokuba was bound as tightly as his brother. "What do you say, Seto?" Amon grinned. "Do we have a deal?"

"Big Brother, no!"

The room fell still, silent, like a video that had been paused, waiting for Seto to hit play. Amon continued to smile. Seto had no doubt that he would do it, but the thing was, Seto would never let him. Amon knew that.

"You're messing with my mind…" Seto accused, the sound barely coming out. Perhaps they did not hear him, but they did not react. His mind working furiously at this, he said it again, more loudly. "You're messing with my mind! Go on then! If you're going to stab him, do it! Do it!"

"Seto…" Mokuba whispered quietly at this traitorous betrayal. Amon hesitated.

"Oh, come on. We both know you won't really let me do it. Why not use your powers, Seto? Too weak? Aww, shame… Well then, there's no option but to join us."

"Or you could do it." Seto maintained, calmly. "What are you going to do, Amon?" The answer was, apparently, nothing; as he stood, uncertain.

"Seto!" Mokuba yelled suddenly, tears rolling down his cheeks. "How could you do this?! You promised you'd look after me! Please, Seto, you can't be serious!"

"Do you… trust me, Mokuba?"

"You're going to let him stab me!"

Seto smirked. "Well then. Go ahead, Aiolos. Stab him. Kill him, if you can."

"I…" Amon frowned. "Screw this, you heartless bastard! I'll kill you instead!" He leapt forward, knife outstretched, plunged it deep into Seto's stomach. Seto snapped, jerking forward at the sudden pain, and then woke up lying on a concrete floor.

He closed his eyes slowly in relief. His gamble had paid off. It had all been one of Tanith's illusions, and as soon as he'd presented it with a situation it had not been expecting, the game had begun to break down, until he'd beaten it. But thank goodness, thank goodness, it had been a game; albeit a dangerous one. The feelings of relief were washed away by those of nausea, and the result was not pleasant. Coughing viciously, Seto rolled onto his other side and slowly, painfully, began to drag himself up off the floor, taking stock of his injuries- which, thankfully, were not so bad as he had imagined. His stomach held a dull throb from the amount of times it had been kicked and punched, he'd somehow gained a sliced arm and a second black eye, and his legs did not want to move. But that was all ineffectual. It didn't matter how weak he was, how mentally exhausted he was. Sometimes, the only way to defeat someone was to know their strategy and adapt to it. It would mean using his powers. But while the lackeys were all out after Masquerade, the Head of the Trust would be all alone. Life was like a game of chess. You had to keep your moves hidden and once the king was taken down the game was won; regardless of how many pieces were on the board. Seto had only one piece left. But, whichever way it went, the game would end now. He pulled his discarded coat out from where it lay defeated under a fallen section of roof plaster. Brushing it off, he put the coat on regardless and limped for the hole in the wall that had once served as a door. They were not defeated yet.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You…!" Pyro stammered in disbelief. "You have powers to?! But… but… Why didn't you use them before now?!"

"They've only just kicked in." Amane informed him, taking a step forward. She could feel the sudden strength and support in her legs as her own muscles, toned from the dance classes she'd been taking in school with Téa, fused with the sinews that would keep a wolf running and running until it's target could not run anymore. "Convenient, don't you think?"

For a moment, her captor seemed unsure, pausing even in his work of tossing balloons out of the plane, but then, with a kind of feverish determination, started lighting them and throwing them out at an incredible pace. Growling, Amane threw herself at him. Half turning into a wolf probably was not the most glamorous or indeed logical power it was possibly to have, perhaps not even the most helpful, but she was going to use them now, and use them as best she could. As her coiled muscles released, she sprung toward him, and the Pyromaniac fell beneath the full force. Amane held him down, her new found claws curling around his shoulders, causing blood to flow. On one level she was sickened, but in truth she was not really aware of what she was doing. She was the wolf now, and the wolf could smell blood and burning and a million other scents. It was like a brown bag had been lifted from her head, and, suddenly, she could sense _everything_. She revelled in this new found world.

"Get off me!" He screamed, and as Amane did not seem like she was going to comply he took hold of her shoulders instead and threw her off, kicking and pushing her away towards the hatch, knocking loads of the prepared balloons out after their fellows. The fact he seemed to intend Amane the same thing registered somewhere in her mind and she became even angrier. It was down to kill or be killed. She intended the former, the animal mind wanted to win, and she wanted to get her revenge. She was more then willing to go along with the animal instincts. He killed Penelope. He wanted to kill her, and kill her brother. She'd rip him to pieces.

She leapt again, stretching out her arms to slash at his face, then his chest, then his stomach. Panting, he finally evaded. The wounds were not deep, but they were annoying. He jumped at her now, but she ducked, managing to place a nasty scratch on his leg. He tumbled backwards, and looked up fearfully as she glared down at him. She curled those clawed fingers around his shirt and pinned him up against the wall with strength she never knew she had. She looked into his eyes, and he prayed that the tiniest glint of mercy would creep into them. She gave out a low rumbling sound that just slipped into his hearing, but gave no action.

"Amane?"

She whipped her head around, snarling; but on seeing the shocked expression staring back at her, she softened.

"Ryou…? I… He…" She sagged suddenly, as the Pyromaniac took advantage of the opportunity and smacked her around the head, taking advantage of her momentary stunned state to twist their positions around and smash her lithe body into the metal walls of the plane, and then again, to make sure the job was done. Disgusted, he threw her to one side, and, sighing slightly as she hit the floor, Amane lay still.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The pause in the falling stars did not go unnoticed on the streets of Domino. Tristan looked up from where he stood in a row of people passing buckets along to try and douse a blaze in one of the houses on the street and blinked.

"Has it stopped…?" he wondered aloud.

"The house is still burning regardless!" The person next to him complained. "Would you grab this already?"

Tristan nodded, taking the bucket and passing it on, before taking another. The flames continued to leap into the air, but were behaving for now. Besides, how long could it possibly be before the fire brigade got to them…?

However, all the fire brigade's attention was currently focused on the hospital, where sick people had been dragged from beds or wheeled out in them in order to evacuate, and now they stood watching helplessly as the fire-fighters did their best to douse the half dozen blazes that had broken out in various places. Almost certainly, the hospital had been one of the worse effected places, and as Téa stood silently before it, she suddenly realised she could not stay here. She did not know where Joey and Serenity had run off to, nor if Yugi and Ryou had made it home safely, or even what these fires had to do with them. But it was too much like the old days, where Yugi's puzzle and title had attracted so much trouble, for her to believe it was nothing to do with any of them. She headed towards the Game Shop, which, like her own home, had already been ravaged by fire. Sitting and looking out of the window there was Yugi, who currently had a lot on his mind. They'd been lucky in that the fire started at their home had really only damaged that one room, and most of their stock was salvageable- people seemed quite happy to take advantage of a 'Slightly fire damaged 50 Off' deal. But not today. Today, the city was burning, and Yugi could no longer sit and watch. He stood up.

"Grandpa! I'm going out!"

Grandpa could have tried to stop him, but he knew he would fail. He had been expecting the decision any minute now, so let him go, and hoped he be able to do something. Yugi hoped the same thing, but knew he could do nothing until he knew what was going on. But nobody knew what was going on; except, perhaps, for a certain friend of his, who stood, unaware he was being hunted, arguing with the police.

"You said yourself!" Masquerade snapped, irritated, to Police Chief Ayako. "You said you didn't have any idea what to do! I _know _I can help them… please…"

"Listen, son, I'll be the first to finally admit it," Ayako began tiredly. "You've been a great deal of help to us, but there's still a hostage up there and an entire city at stake; and no-one knows what he wants. I can't let you go up there, not alone, and _certainly _not with these two girls."

"_I _know what he wants." Masquerade informed her coolly. "He wants _me_. Let me go up there. I can do this. I have to- I care about the city and about Am- the hostage as much as you do! Let me go!"

"I said no." Ayako said, firmly. "Now stop before I arrest you for wasting police time."

"We're going anyway." Masquerade said, swallowing and reaching out towards Penelope and Serenity as the burning paper balloons began to fall like flaming snow again. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the guns that had been previously aimed at the aeroplane were turned on him. He swallowed again.

"I'm sorry." Ayako said, sounding as though she actually meant it. "Stay there, and they won't have to do anything. Any move will now be counted as trying to thwart police operations and, as an act of terrorism, gives us the right to shoot." She looked away, and added quietly. "You could risk it, but please… I'm asking you, please don't risk it!"

"I…" Masquerade hesitated, his thoughts unreadable hidden behind the mask.

Joey, watching unseen from a small alleyway nearby, cursed silently under his breath. He didn't want Serenity going up onto the plane, and he certainly didn't want to see her full of more holes than Swiss cheese; but he _did _want to let her make her own choices, and, more importantly, he wanted Amane, who was almost certainly the 'hostage' rescued. The person he trusted most with his sister was Ryou, but surely, in his absence, this guy was the next best thing. Only a Superhero could rescue Amane while protecting his sister, and save the city while he was about it- Joey had read enough comic books to know that. And so, as Masquerade continued to hesitate, he crept forward.

"I…" Masquerade stammered again, shuffling slightly, torn between his sister and his… friends. He could almost certainly avoid their shots if he flew suddenly and fast, but then he'd have to leave the other two behind in the line of fire. Yet, if he didn't go, Amane would…

"Take off your mask." Ayako instructed. "It's over, kid. Take off the mask, and we'll see how things go from there. Maybe we can help."

Slowly, he raised his hands to his mask, and began to uncertainly pull it up.

They were interrupted by a car alarm going off as someone climbed purposefully up onto the roof of it. "Listen up!" He yelled.

"Joey…?" Serenity stifled the words and tried to look as though she didn't know him.

"I have a message from the guy up there!" Joey yelled, stabbing a finger at the plane in the sky. "So you better all listen!" He tried to ignore the guns now trained on him. Ayako stepped forward.

"Who are you? What do you know?"

"He's gonna burn down the city! He'll do it! He's a mad man, calls himself 'The Pyromaniac'."

"We know! Just tell us who you are!"

"I'm just a person with vested interests in this here case." Joey replied, trying to sound dangerous and mysterious while trying to ignore his rationality which was sobbing at the fact that, if he wasn't shot, he was almost certainly going to be arrested. "And I'm telling you, he's going to keep dropping those balloons until…"

"Until? What are his demands? Until when?"

"Until he runs out of them. And then…"

_Good question… _Joey thought, worried. Outside, he showed no concern. "And then… he'll move onto bombs!"

_Yeah. Great one there, idiot._

"How do you know all this?" Ayako demanded. "And what can we do to stop him?"

"Nothing! You can't do anything!" Joey concluded, hopping down off the car. "Leave it to those who can!" He pointed behind them, to where the only sign Masquerade had ever been there was his mask, lying discarded on the floor.

"What?!" Ayako shouted, turning back to where the blond kid had been. He was gone to, racing away down an alleyway. "Darn it! Get after him! Find out what he knows and how he knows it!"

Hopping over a fence, Joey heard this, and hoped Masquerade did to.

_They better appreciate this… _He growled mentally, running down the conjoining street and away.

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His footsteps, painfully slow, echoed on the tiled floors as his dusty boots clicked along them. He only met three people in the building's deserted bows and two had the good sense to ignore him. The third found himself smacking into a wall at high velocity, causing Seto to smile tiredly. He still had it. This building was just like any other office block that he'd spent years in, and he'd broken into it easily. Things were not boding well for the Trust Master. He walked up the stairs slowly, heart pounding a little more then he'd have liked it to, clasping the banister more tightly than strictly necessary, and the whole time the words of that darn fortune teller were running through his head as they had been blown on the wind after him. _"It could even save you making a grave error. It could save many lives… maybe even your life…". _Still, he didn't believe in fortune tellers. Unfortunately, in recent years, he'd come to learn that things he didn't believe in weren't necessarily false. With this comforting thought, Seto pushed the door before him open. He did not pause to knock.

The Trust Master turned, but did not seem surprised to see him standing there. He looked Seto up and down, and then tutted. "If there's one thing I hate," he commented, passionately. "It's a job left half-done. Well, you may as well sit down Seto- you look dead on your feet."

Seto stood motionless.

"Come on, boy!" The man said, impatient now. "It's not a challenge to your dominance if we're both sitting down, is it?" To prove the point, he sank into a large chair on the opposite side of the desk. Seto strode over to it and decided to speak before sitting down.

"Just to make one thing very clear." He said, slowly. "I could attack you any time I wanted to. In fact, I _do _want to. You do not have the upper hand."

"Just sit down." The Trust Master said, as though to an insolent child.

Seto complied simply because it had been quite a walk and, in his current state, it was better to sit down than to fall. They fell silent for a moment, and then he leant forward to speak into the intercom on his desk.

"Yes, Mr Fallon?"

"I'd like a coffee, I think. Seto?"

He glared.

"Bring two. And perhaps some bandages, my guest has a rather nasty cut on his arm. And tell Eric to get 'that' room ready." He smiled slightly at Seto. "I have something to show you."

"I'm sure." Seto answered wryly. "You know why I'm here, and it's not to join you. Why prolong the inevitable, Rais?"

Rais Fallon, a man Seto recognised as himself in forty years, smirked back. "So impatient, youth today. Believe me, you'll be glad you waited… Please, follow me."

He pressed a button on his desk and, suddenly, part of the floor slid smoothly back to reveal a staircase; and Seto was fairly certain most floors didn't do that. Beckoning to him, Fallon began to head down them, and, just because there seemed to be no other choice, and because he was far too curious for his own good, Seto followed him down the floodlight staircase and into the devil's lair.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"There's only one way in!" Penelope yelled over the rushing wind, trying to ignore the embarrassment at being carried up under one arm in such away as well as the amazement at flying. "And that's through the hatch!"

"Where the balloons are coming out?" Serenity shouted back. "Will that work?"

"I can try!" Ryou put in, sounding a little strained. The girls may have felt as though they were light as feathers, and, indeed, with the extra support from the air, they almost were; but it was still more weight than he was used to and so was beginning to take it's toll as the air around them became thicker and thicker with the mini hot air balloons that would ignite to become such a danger lower down. It was getting harder and harder to find room to fit the three of them through the gaps to. Up ahead looked almost impossible. He scanned the space, and found there was none. He felt perhaps he would have had more luck were it not for the fact he was having to hold very tightly onto Serenity who, try as he might, he could not help but think of as-

This was all very inappropriate right now. Perhaps Ryou would have drawn some comfort had he known Serenity's thought patterns were running along very similar lines.

"Ryou!" Penelope screamed, and he had to swerve to avoid a falling balloon. Unfortunately, this knocked him askew, and, as he tried to right himself, his shoulder was forced right into one of the flames just beginning to ignite the paper above it. Yelping, he shook his arm, and let go of Penelope.

In Ryou's defence, he reacted quickly, turning around and heading downwards; but even his colossal speed was not enough when still carrying one passenger and trying to avoid fiery balls of death.

"I won't reach her!" He screamed. "I won't get her!"

"No!" Serenity answered, the first word that came into her shocked head. Ryou wouldn't be able to get her. She really would die this time. Unless…

She'd never been able to do it before, but she _had _to now.

Serenity stretched out her arm. That's what it felt like- that she stretched out her arm and it continued to stretch and stretch clear through the sky, and she could bend it at any point, as though there were no bones there at all. It was only a gap of a metre or two, but in terms of arm length, it seemed an eternity until she snatched hold of a terrified girl's collar.

"You…" Ryou gasped in relief. "Are amazing…"

"Make her light!" Serenity begged, hysterically. "Make her light! Do something! I can't hold her!"

"Ah! Sorry!"

Between them, they hauled Penelope back up, and once she was more or less safely back in Ryou's singed arms, they all gave a sigh of relief, Ryou apologising profusely; almost unable to stop. Penelope slapped him weakly.

"I never want to fly 'Ryou' again…" She muttered. "Thanks for the save, Serenity."

"Oh… you're welcome…"

"You're amazing." Ryou repeated, smiling at her. "I mean it."

"…T…thank you, Ryou…"

"_Not _the time!" Penelope howled. "Ryou, look where you're going, _please_!"

"I know where I'm going…"

"Our certain doom?"

"No. Through the hatch." Ryou bit his lip hesitantly. "_Then_ certain doom." Nether the less, an instant later, they breezed through the hatch during a lull in the balloons, where a most unexpected sight met their eyes.

A tail. A large, bushy, grey and white tail. That's what appeared to be growing out of his sister. And fluffy, fuzzy grey ears above a shock of white hair. Slightly bowed legs and lithe, slightly greying forearms, holding a man to the wall with claws that seemed to have grown like fingernails. And yet, he knew her.

"Amane?"

She turned with a sound that was more wolf than human, her eyes yellowed and her teeth elongated. For a moment, the fear remained in the man's eyes, blood leaking from grazes on his arms and legs. What had happened to her…? And what had she been about to _do_?

"Ryou…? I… He…" She sagged suddenly, as the Pyromaniac took advantage of the opportunity and smacked her around the head, taking advantage of her momentary stunned state to twist their positions around and smash her lithe body into the metal walls of the plane, and then again, to make sure the job was done. Disgusted, he threw her to one side, and, sighing slightly as she hit the floor, Amane lay still.

Ryou had no concern for his opponent as he ran over to his sister, so missed, and now appearing so strangely. He didn't care, and neither did the other two as they came over with him, and tried desperately to wake her.

"Amane! Amane!"

He felt something cold and round pressing into the back of his head. It was not the first time he had felt it. There had been that occasion in the Supermarket queue. And then he had felt the effects in Penelope's house. He froze. The Pyromaniac began to laugh.

"He shot them. My Rachel… My Sarah… Do you get it now? Are you feeling what they felt? Are you praying for your life right now? Do you feel what they did? Are you suffering?" Ryou felt the vibration right through his skull as the safety catch was taken off. "…Tell me, Ryou Thomas Bakura, how useful are your skills against a _real _weapon?"

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_'Love' is a very strange thing. Surely, with something as wide and as varied in form as love, they shouldn't all be put under one umbrella. There's the love you have for your favourite foods, or a warm bed on a winter morning, or the smell of mown grass, or something like that. Then there's something stronger, where you feel conflicted, where even when a person can annoy you to the point of hatred you still love them, because you've known them all your life; your brother, your sister, a friend. Yes, I think you do love your friends in a way to. There's the widest form of love, which makes you want to protect complete strangers on the street, or on the other side of the world, the 'love' that makes you feel it's your duty to use your powers for 'good'. There's unrequited love and tragic love and love that shatters; there's love you never realise you've had until it's gone, and sometimes you miss it when you can't put your finger on what it is; as I still do all these years after I lost my parents. There's the love that makes you cling onto someone, that took me here after just one person, that makes Penelope hold onto her brother when really he's not even there anymore. There's a love that makes you trust one person above anyone else, want to protect them more then anyone, like Kaiba always chasing after his brother even when he's so heartless to everyone else. But there's something more. There's the love you realise you have when you look forward to seeing someone, even if nothing happens, if you're never bored around them, if you're not sure if it will last forever but want to treasure it while it lasts, and if you couldn't _possibly_ tell them._

_Love makes people do awfully funny things. But I suppose that, really, what makes our 'soul' is the same thing that makes us 'love'. Perhaps love, for all it's ins and outs and ups and downs, is what makes us human. And I would very much like to remain human, because sometimes it hasn't felt like it; even here, beside my sister who appears to be changing into a wolf, I feel less then human and less then myself. I'm not even sure who I am yet. If I survive, I think I'll go to try and find out. Perhaps they'd like to come with me, these friends of mine. _

_But first, I have to get us all out of here. Alive._

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A/N: Well, there we have it! I shall try to update once more before Christmas, but the closer we get to the Big J's b'day, the busier it gets! When I say 'once more', I actually mean 'Twice more', because, as usual, I shall not be posting the final full chapter until I have also written the epilogue, which will be posted the day after. I can't believe we're almost at the end of the fic! Let us limp towards it just as we limp towards the end of 2006 with some final rhetorical questions:

Who will emerge triumphant? Seto or the Trust? Ryou or the Pyromaniac? Joey or the police? Who gets an impromptu haircut? How cold is a freezer? Who is flying the plane? Who will get out of there alive…? Please join me within the next few days for **A Superhero Story Chapter Fifteen- A Hero…**


	16. A Hero

A/N: Here we are! A day or two later then I would have liked, perhaps, but no matter. We have arrived at the last proper chapter! _(Sob sob gasp) _But who's going to come out of this chapter?! Place your bets, folks, as we go into some final fight scenes that I had no ideas for and so are a little disappointing. _(Sweatdrop) _Still, there's some fun bits as well- mainly at Joey's expense. Please enjoy the finale:D

Disclaimer: Je ne achete pas Yu-Gi-Oh. And that probably made no sense, because I can't for the life of me remember if 'achete' means what I think it does, or even how it's spelt. Meh.

Fifteen- A Hero

"I apologise about all the stairs, Seto, we've only just had the basement built, so I haven't had an elevator installed yet. Of course, the floor extends half a mile in any direction, so I shouldn't complain. It's been wonderful for our… project."

Seto said nothing, fully concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. His body was despairing and threatening him with collapse if he kept this up. But he had no choice. He had no choice but to continue down the sterile white staircase in the hopes that his body would hold on a little longer. He could show no weakness. He had to reply.

"And what project is it that you're so anxious to show me?" He asked, unable to stop a gasp of pain. Rais glanced up at him, tutting.

"Where _are _those bandages?" He asked. "We can't have you bleeding all over the equipment…"

"We haven't got the coffee either." Seto remarked drably, unable to stop a smart-aleck comment. "I guess we'll just have to get by. Besides, you didn't have a problem with my bleeding all over your subordinates, I can't help but notice."

"Yes… well, subordinates are easier to replace- as you well know, after what Faceless did to them the _last _time we tried to have you killed. Besides, circumstances have changed." Rais flustered, and, for a second, a look of pure malice skimmed over his face. "Of course, I'd rather they'd… I'd rather it hadn't come to this, but as you're here, Seto, perhaps you'll help me."

Seto snorted. "Given the displays today? Do you really think that's likely?"

"You seem to forget, Seto, that you did not _win_. You merely _survived. _And the first thing you do is come right into my domain, without even resting, getting your wounds treated. You are a fool."

"Then why not kill me here?" Seto spat sarcastically.

"I said you were a fool, not that you were unintelligent. I'd like you to have a look at something I've been working on. One inventor to another." Rais moved down the final two steps, Seto emerging from behind him, and they stood together, looking out over the cavernous room. Rais spread his arms wide. "This, my boy, is the future of the Trust!" When this seemed to fail to impress, he flapped Seto forward impatiently. "Well go on, then!" He ushered. "Go and have a look!"

Seto walked calmly forward. This was a place he was used to, some sort of R&D lab, technicians in white coats and name tags scuttling across it's surface like reflected light. He knew places like this. He was familiar with it, at home here. It was just like the labs at Kaiba Corp, except with less computers and more noise. It was a buzzing, humming noise, which appeared to be originating from some large egg-shaped cylinders standing on end in the corner of the room; each about the size of a man; not dissimilar to the VR pods Seto had created not long ago, standing on end. Seto went and placed his hand on one. It was cold. He closed his eyes, snorting dismissively, and turned back to face Rais.

"Well?" The head asked.

"Huh. I'm not that much a fool. You didn't invent these." Seto said, coolly. "These are freezers. Branching out into cryogenics?"

"More or less." Rais conceded, coming over to stand by his side. "You see, it's so much… cleaner. We have reason to believe freezing people will destroy their powers, which would mean that we could dispose of competition without all that bother with getting rid of the bodies. We just thaw them out and let them go. Of course, if they then decided to talk, we'd have to take more permanent measures- but then, who would believe them? And then there's the fact that we don't know what state of mental aptitude they'd be in when they were thawed out. So far, everyone's come out a little dead. But I'm sure we're almost there!"

"Sounds to me like all you have are theories." Seto commented.

Rais nodded. "I know, I know. As I say, we _believe _the powers will be destroyed, and then we can eliminate anyone who would compete with us… the governments would have to comply too us then, you'd see. When we control the entire world's supply of heroes, either because they've joined us or because they've become useless, we'll have total control. We'll have whatever we want. It will truly be a golden time."

"Well, good luck with that." Seto said, dryly. "In the course of this conversation, I have spotted one hundred and seventy two possible faults in your machinery and your moronic plan."

"'Moronic'?" Rais echoed, sounding insulted. "I assure you, it is not! I thought you'd approve that we weren't going to _kill _anyone right away. I was certain sending you to Gozaburo would knock those idiotic morals out of you…"

"My morals aren't the problem." Seto interrupted. "I couldn't care less about what you do to those so called 'Superheroes'. I just want to be left in peace."

"But this is part of who you are." Rais pleaded.

"A part I don't need." Seto told him gruffly, tensing. It was about to kick off. "I've come here for the last time. This is when it all ends. I'm asking you nicely- leave me alone."

"If that's what you want…" Rais began, a glint of threat appearing in his eye. "I guess there is no other option… Perhaps, Seto, you would care to test these freezers and see if your one hundred and seventy two _possible _faults come to pass?"

"I'd be delighted," Seto said back, smiling a little maniacally, and forcing his tired body to stand straight. "Just as soon as I dispose of a little problem that's been bothering me…"

"Huh. Then let's get down to business. And try not to make too much of a mess on my floor." Rais replied, waving his technicians out of the room, until they stood alone, facing each other, waiting.

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He felt something cold and round pressing into the back of his head. It was not the first time he had felt it. There had been that occasion in the Supermarket queue. And then he had felt the effects in Penelope's house. He froze. The Pyromaniac began to laugh.

"He shot them. My Rachel… My Sarah… Do you get it now? Are you feeling what they felt? Are you praying for your life right now? Do you feel what they did? Are you suffering?" Ryou felt the vibration right through his skull as the safety catch was taken off. "…Tell me, Ryou Thomas Bakura, how useful are your skills against a _real _weapon?"

Ryou's heart and head were pounding, but he remained silent. He had one shot at this. One wrong move, and he was dead. The gun was pressed harder against the back of his head.

"I asked you a question!" The man roared. Ryou turned slowly, the gun kept level with his face the entire time.

"I'm sorry." He said, quietly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You… How?! How can you not know?! How can you not know what you did?!" The Pyromaniac screamed, and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out, but then blew back, hitting off the gun's barrel and sending bullet and gun back into the far corner of the plane. Ryou gave a sigh of relief, lowering his hand. It had worked. But that bullet had been moving fast, and it had not been easy to deflect. He was not invincible- he needed to get them all out of her as soon as possible. He shook his sister, almost unrecognisable now, again.

"Amane… wake up."

She did, slowly stirring. She saw Ryou, and blinked in confusion, before sitting up and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Ryou! You made it…"

"So did you." Ryou answered. Then he yelped as he felt a claw hook his hair. He glanced back over his shoulder and noticed that several lengths of his hair were now lying detached on the floor behind him. "Amane! You're cutting my hair!"

"What?!" Amane loosened her hold and saw to. "Oh, gosh… I'm sorry, Ryou…" She leant around, looking at the back of his head. "Geez, it's a real mess now. You'll have to go to a hairdresser."

"Great…" Ryou sighed, then shook his head. "Oh, never mind that now! It's good to see you, Amane…"

"You to." She replied, hugging him again. Ryou could feel she was shaking a little. "I… I was going to kill him, Ryou. One moment I was mad at him for tossing Penelope out of the plane, and then, suddenly, I'm… like this." She waved a hand, with it's hair and claws in his face. "What's happening to me, Ryou? I wanted powers, but… but not like this… not ones I can't control! I… I didn't know who I _was_, Ryou…!"

"I know." Ryou answered, trying to be reassuring. "We'll work something out. Don't worry. It'll be alright."

"I just want to go home…"

"We will." Ryou promised.

"Um…" Serenity put in, sheepishly. "I hate to say it, but shouldn't we save the city first?"

"Just as soon as we've saved the city." Ryou nodded, slowly getting up and turning to face his opponent, speaking as he did so. "Okay, I get you want to kill me. But you didn't have to take it out on these guys. Why are you- Penelope! What are you _doing_?!"

It suddenly became apparent why the Pyromaniac had not done anything since the gun had been knocked from his hand. Penelope had claimed it, and now stood with the barrel jammed into their adversary's forehead. It shook slightly, but, in the main, stood firm.

"What else _can _we do, Ryou?" Penelope whispered, miserably. "He's going to kill us. It's self-defence." She placed her finger onto her trigger. "He's burnt down the city. Killed and harmed millions of innocent people and… and my family… he kidnapped Amane. He messed with my head. He… He deserves to die! He deserves it!"

"Penelope…" Amane whispered. "No, please…"

"There's no other way." Penelope insisted firmly. "He has to die. He _deserves _to die!"

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The room had emptied, although the staff were gathering in viewing galleries around the top of the room, like old paintings depicting angels gathering around the dead, hanging in the balconies. Seto did not spare them a glance as he stood, waiting. Rais waved a hand at him.

"Hold on. I just want to get this ready for it's new occupant." He said, turning to one of the freezers and pulling the heavy door open, pressing the buttons to begin lowering the temperature. To his surprise, the door slammed shut again. He sighed, turning to face Seto.

"I'm impatient." Seto mocked. "And yet, I'm waiting."

Rais snorted. "You waste your time on cheap tricks when you have so little strength anyway. You're out of your depth, Seto!" He raised a hand, and immediately, a wave of water rose up behind him, and smashed into Seto, knocking him back into the wall.

The water gushed over Seto, flooding into every orifice, his mouth, eyes, and nose. He was drowning in the torrent being shot at him. But, at the same time, the cold water was… refreshing. It woke him up, at any rate, and once he was awake…

The water suddenly curved up into the air, rising up to the ceiling, and curving back towards who had been originally it's master. Rais struggled against it, the power of telekinesis and the power over water battling it out for control. Distracted, he did not notice Seto emerging at speed from the flume and landing a punch on his face. Rais was knocked backwards, smacking his head off the freezer, the water suddenly falling as rain, making the floor slippery and getting his precious equipment wet. Seto looked down at him, feeling vaguely satisfied. Powers or not, there was nothing quite like punching someone.

Rais climbed to his feet, taking a hand away from his bloody nose, eyes narrowed. "A moment ago, you could hardly stand." He hissed. "How are you fighting?"

"Perhaps I'm finally on the side of the angels?" Seto suggested, smirking. "Or perhaps you're getting too old for this?"

"I keep telling you…" Rais replied. "You're too impatient. This isn't over!" Seto found himself being thrown clear through the air as a geyser, formed from the fallen water, shot up from beneath him. There wasn't much he could do as he smashed into the wall and then crumpled to the floor, the geyser falling after him. Rolling to avoid it, Seto got to his feet, and again grabbed the water, wresting it away from Rais' control and sending it arching gracefully up into the balconies where the technicians yelled and scattered. Seto did not let concern show on his face, but registered the fact that this was hardly up to his usual standard. He needed to begin sending these things back at Rais rather then just reflecting them in any old direction… But the plumes of water came again and again, impossibly fast, it was all he could do to keep up and stop them hitting him.

Unless… perhaps hitting him was exactly what they needed to do. Sending one more burst of water spiralling up to the ceiling, he allowed the next flume to hit him in the back. He fell to his knees under the pressure, the drops of water hitting hard enough to bruise his back, making it hard to breathe. Ensuring he kept sending the water in the right direction, Rais stepped over to his opponent.

"On your knees… What a suitable ending." Rais snorted. "You should have learnt by now, Seto, there are some things you have to face up to, some things you can't avoid… You cannot change who and what you are."

Seto did not reply, still being beaten into the floor by the pressure of the water upon him. It hit his back, his neck, the back of his head, flowing over his body and down his face in rivers. He was gasping by now, being slowly crushed or drowned, but had Rais looked, he might have noticed the smirk of satisfaction on his apparent victim's face. However, he was too busy talking.

"You're a fool, Seto." He said, sounding disgusted. "You should have watched your back."

"Perhaps…" Seto said, slowly. "You could learn that same lesson."

Rais wheeled around, expecting to find something coming towards him. But there was not. Now he had his back to Seto, he could tell it had been a last, desperate ploy. Smirking, he turned back just in time to see the hundreds of litres that had just spilt over Seto and onto the floor gathering itself up and sweeping him up into a huge wave- into a suddenly opened door of one of the freezers. In less than a second, Rais was forced into one of the pods and a huge amount of water with him as the door slammed shut. Panting, Seto splashed through the shallow puddles and locked the door, turned the freezer on. Slowly, body and water began to freeze over. Seto turned to face the assembled technicians, who seemed torn between attacking and running, but without a leader had no real motivation to do either. Seto knew this, and spoke plainly.

"You have no leader." He said, bluntly. "Either you can try to defrost him and have him come out dead, or you can leave him in the _unlikely _hope that one day the technology will be around to revive him. If he doesn't drown as soon as the ice melts. You can chose. I couldn't care less what you do- stay here, elect a new leader, go back to your families, whatever- just leave me alone. If I see any of you again, you will be joining him." He pointed at the human icicle behind him, and then, knowing his message had had enough impact, he limped away, smiling to himself.

It was time to go home.

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"What else _can _we do, Ryou?" Penelope whispered, miserably. "He's going to kill us. It's self-defence." She placed her finger onto her trigger. "He's burnt down the city. Killed and harmed millions of innocent people and… and my family… he kidnapped Amane. He messed with my head. He… He deserves to die! He deserves it!"

"Penelope…" Amane whispered. "No, please…"

"There's no other way." Penelope insisted firmly. "He has to die. He _deserves _to die!"

"I can't let you do that." The Pyromaniac said, softly. "I can't go now. Not like this. I… I don't care if I die, just let me take him out first! He killed them! He killed them both!"

"Tell me." Ryou said, suddenly. "Tell me… who I killed."

"Ryou!" Amane protested, but Ryou held up a hand to stop her and gestured at the Pyromaniac.

"My wife and daughter." He shuddered. "Do you remember…Faceless? That Christmas, back in England… You saved Seto Kaiba's life, stopped me killing him, and got my family killed instead!"

Ryou recoiled, gasping. "You're… Miller. Tom Miller. You're the reason I stopped handing people over to the police! I… screwed up… you went to prison for something you didn't do… Phantom and Eclipse caught the real guy in the end, I remember reading about it in the paper."

"It was too late by then!" Tom yelled. "They were dead! The 'real guy' had killed them, and because of you, I wasn't there to protect them! You have blood on your hands!"

"I…" Ryou looked away at this news. He wanted to say how desperately sorry he was, but it was too little, too late. "I… I know. I know."

"Don't agree!" Tom screeched at him. "That's as bad as _excusing _what you've done! I'll kill you!"

"I can't let you do that." Penelope said, sounding uncertain, but keeping the gun in place nether the less. "I… have a better idea." With a quick jerk of her arm, she tossed the gun away. It spiralled through the air and disappeared into the ether through the still open hatch. "Okay? Now you don't have a weapon, but we have three superheroes. Just let it go!"

"I…"

"I've hurt you too much already." Ryou stated. "Please don't make me do anymore."

"You're not to blame for this, Ryou!" Serenity burst out, suddenly. "It was a mistake!"

"That makes no difference!" Tom yelled, suddenly darting across the room, forcing Penelope to one side. "It won't bring them back!"

Yelling in surprise, Ryou managed to evade to one side, jumping away. "Please…" He begged, but Tom swung at him again, and he was forced to take this fight seriously. Things were looking bad. There was very little room, and with the others around, he didn't want them to get hurt. But, then again, he had already fought Kaiba not long ago, and if he could get through that, he could probably deal with a middle aged man that didn't have such powers. There were only two problems- that Ryou felt inclined to hold back and that Tom was being spurred on by a festering hatred and an unbalanced mind. Like a bulldozer, he kept swinging and swinging, giving Ryou little time to do anything but dodge. At last, a fist came into contact with his head, with such momentum as to send him stumbling away. Moving in for the kill, Tom raised a hand- and Ryou knew once he was knocked to the floor, he'd be done for. Luckily, the fist never came down as a hand suddenly grasped his wrist, another coming and securing his other hand behind his back. Serenity, still standing a metre or two away, held him firm, before swinging him around with her amazingly fluid arms into one of the walls. He groaned in pain, but Serenity was forced to let him go as her untrained limbs and powers began to protest.

"That's pretty cool." Ryou grinned.

"Thank you. Whoa!" Seeing him sneaking up behind Ryou's back, Serenity spewed her leg out to an impossible length, but not used to such gangly limbs, missed her aim. However, Tom toppled to one side, yelling, regardless; and Penelope came into view, lowering her leg.

"I've been playing too much football." She admitted as she gave him a kick where he would not want to be kicked and, losing his balance, he fell to the floor; suddenly finding a very peed off half-wolf pining him down.

"Don't try anything." Amane snarled, making sure he got a good view of her new fangs. "I warn you, I hate planes, and I get a little… testy when I'm scared."

"I…" He began, then suddenly gained resolution. "I don't care!" Screaming, he gained a sudden, desperate strength, and threw her off. "I have to! They can't rest in peace till I don't!"

"…You're deluded." Ryou whispered, feeling as much pity as you can for a man with a taste for your death. "I'm sure… I'm sure they would not want you to do this."

"How would you know?!" He protested, madness glinting in his eyes. "If it wasn't for you, they'd still be here to tell me, wouldn't they?! You don't have a clue what it's like to lose everything!"

"Of course I do!" Ryou screamed back. "I've lost both my parents, and I thought I'd lost Amane to! I know what it's like to have nothing! I knew the day…" He slowed down as the Pyromaniac began grinning dementedly. "I knew when our house burnt down. You did it, didn't you? You… You killed our mom."

For a second, a trace of guilt flicked across his face. "It was meant to be you! She was just in the wrong place!"

"You killed our mom…" Amane echoed, in disbelief.

"Yes!" The Pyromaniac shouted, suddenly. "I killed her! And I'll kill him, to! All of you, stay out of this if you want to survive!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Yugi!"

"Téa!" Yugi answered in surprise as she ran up to join him. "What are you doing out here? There's fires everywhere! And you were in the hospital!"

"That's _why_ I'm here!" Téa smiled slightly. "The city needs saving! Just like old times! That's why you're here to, right?"

"I suppose…" Yugi answered sheepishly. "But I'm afraid I'm at a bit of a loss this time. I'm not even sure if this is anything to do with us."

"Still-" Téa began, being abruptly cut off as someone bumped into her as he sprinted past.

"Excuse me!" He called back, over his shoulder, as he disappeared around the corner.

"Wasn't that… Joey?" Téa wondered, looking up the street after the passer-by. Suddenly, she was pushed aside once again by a group of police officers.

"Sorry miss!" One called back as Yugi helped her regain her balance.

"I don't know _who _it was…" He replied to her earlier question. "But I'm not entirely sure I want to find out. Let's just go and see if we can find out what's happening on that plane!"

"Right." Téa nodded, and they set off with haste, but not so much as Joey had, still running as fast as he could, acting as a decoy for Masquerade. Finally, he seemed to be drawing ahead of them; which was a good job, because he was getting tired.

"How do I get into these things?!" He yelled in frustration at himself, closing his eyes in disbelief. This is never a good a idea when running, and, naturally, Joey smashed into something tall, wet, and coming in the opposite direction. He opened his eyes. "Hey, sorry, I…" He trailed off.

As if this day could get any worse.

"You seem to be in a hurry." Kaiba remarked, dryly. "Has a candy truck overturned in the street?"

"Actually, I'm running from the police!" Joey snapped, irritably, but then looked again at Kaiba. Not only was he wet, he was beaten up and bleeding. "What the _heck_ happened to you, anyway?!"

Seto looked down at himself, as though surprised. "I…I…"

A hurt and stammering Kaiba was not one Joey was used to, and it made him uneasy. "Hey, you alright…?"

"There he is!" A voice came from the corner.

"Are you sure? The sun's in my eyes! I can't see him!"

"Oh crud!" Joey yelled as he ran off again, swinging around the other end of the road to the left. The police came and stopped at the corner of the road, hesitating. Seto watched with slight amusement.

"Hey, sir! Did you see where he went?" One officer called out to him.

"I'm not blind." Seto retorted. "He went…" he raised his arm and pointed. "That way. I think he was heading for the docks."

The officers did not pause to thank him, racing around the corner and heading off down the road in entirely the opposite direction to Joey. Seto sighed.

"Idiots. No wonder Bakura has so much work to do… how pathetic…" Seto raised a hand to his head, and then noticed that this hurt a bruise on the top of his head, and became aware that his head was spinning. Collapsing in the street was not something he intended to do anytime soon, or ever. How embarrassing that would be. Instead, he continued his limp home.

He had to get home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto closed the front door behind him. At last, he was home. He sighed in relief, allowing himself a satisfied smile. He was home. That was the main thing. Now he could sleep… Mokuba's voice came from the top of the stairs.

"Seto! You're home! I was worried with all these fires, especially how you always seem to…" He trailed off as his brother turned around and looked up at him. "…What happened?" He whispered in silent horror, coming closer. No-one had ever managed to beat up his brother like this before. Seto had two black, tired eyes, stood as though he could collapse, was dusty, dirty, soaked through, bleeding, bruised and battered and smiling- that was odd in itself. Seto was smiling…?

"It doesn't matter." He told Mokuba, quietly. "It's over now."

Mokuba felt rather inclined to insist it _did _matter, but something in Seto's tone of voice stopped him. He took a step forward, to get a closer look at his brother's wounds, but to his surprise, Seto put his hands on his shoulders to stop him. Mokuba looked up, scared, and on seeing this look, Seto pulled him in close and they hugged each other tight.

"It's okay." Seto muttered tiredly. "I promise, it's done now. It's all over. We're _free, _Mokuba!"

"Um… good?" Mokuba tried, bewildered. "From what, Seto? What happened?"

"I…"

"Seto, what's going on?!"

"Nothing… nothing's going on now… not anymore…"

"Then what…?" Mokuba frowned, suddenly yelping as his brother slumped forward. Struggling to support his brother's weight, his frown deepened. "Hey! No fair! You can't go to sleep just to evade my questioning!"

But, apparently, he could. Mokuba sighed. "I hate to even _think _what you've been doing, Seto…" He grumbled. "You always get into trouble… but I'm glad you won, Big Brother."

As if there had been any doubt. Seto _never _lost.

Well, except on a few occasions to the Pharaoh, but those _so _didn't count. Seto would have kicked his butt if he'd stuck around a little longer for sure. However, that was irrelevant right now.

Mokuba lowered his brother to the floor, not able to hold him up anymore. He wondered vaguely just how the heck he was supposed to get someone so tall and lanky up the stairs, and then gave up. He didn't know what had happened and wasn't entirely sure Seto was going to let him find out, but he knew it was over now, and he knew Seto was happy about it. That was good enough for him.

…For now, anyway.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You can't kill them!" Ryou protested. "Your fight is with me!"

"Then fight me." Tom prompted. "Don't hold back." Ryou took his word, and, using the anger at his mother's murder, called the winds. Air rushed up through the hatch, engulfed the Pyromaniac, and blew him up into the roof, the walls, and let him drop, scattering the few remaining balloons. Tom pulled his head up, his face slightly bruised, and smiled manically. "That's better."

In an instant, he was on his feet, dashing at Ryou, swinging a punch, but then found himself blown backwards by an incredible wind. He hit the floor again, the impact painful, but began to drag himself back upwards.

"Please!" Ryou yelled, getting some self restraint back. "Give this up! Let's end this madness now!"

"I intend to!" Tom roared back, running towards the boy; this time his kick making contact with Ryou's stomach, making him double up, and knocking him to the ground with a punch to the head. He clasped his hands around Ryou's throat. "How much help is ruling over air when even you can't get it into your body?" He smirked.

"Let go of him!" Amane growled, diving across the room, slicing his face again, and pushing him off. In a tangle of tooth and claw they rolled about, fighting tribally, biting and scratching; dangerously close to the hatch.

"Watch out!" Serenity screamed, and before she knew what had happened had somehow managed to stretch herself completely out of shape, making a kind of bridge over the hatch. The two rolled across it safely, and Serenity, her weak powers once again worn out, snapped back to her normal shape and managed to cling onto the edge of the hatch just before tumbling out herself. Thankfully, Penelope was there to pull her back in, and crouched with the scared, panting, girl.

"You alright?" Penelope checked.

"Yeah…" Serenity said, panting. "That was close."

"I told you not to interfere!" Suddenly, he was behind her, ready to push her back out and down to her fate, but then, he was once again blown away by a colossal wind. Ryou had finally recovered himself, and as Amane also staggered to her feet from where she had been thrown off, they were back in business. Tom hesitated.

"Come on." Ryou pleaded, one final time. "That's enough."

"It's not enough until you're dead." The Pyromaniac hissed back, and, before anyone could react, had ran at Ryou, forcing into his stomach with all his might, and sending the hero toppling out of the plane.

Ryou felt himself falling out of the plane, but the fact barely had time to register, let alone give him chance to use his powers and save himself, when he felt two hands grab his. Serenity smiled down at him past her long, tired arms.

"Now I've saved you." She commented.

They were not out of the woods yet. Back on board, the Pyromaniac was being carried by his own momentum. He stumbled back, once, twice, and teetered on the edge of the hatch. As he fell backwards, his eyes became lost, full of pain, regret, and fear. He tumbled out of the plane, and fell down towards the far distant ground; a reflection of what his life had been like since his family had been killed. He did not scream. Suddenly, he was in an endless sky, just being tinted orange and golden. He had fallen from a nightmare into a beautiful world at the level of the clouds. He knew he was going to die, but for now, he was falling, flying, free. Free as a bird, they said. He was heading towards the ground, perhaps heading home. It was all over. At last, it was over.

Ryou watched him fall, his first instinct to let him fall onto a cushion of air just as Penelope had. Yet, as he began to draw the air together, he thought again, and slowly let it drop. The man was insane. He had lost everything, and, unlike Ryou, had not been able to rebuild it again. If he survived, he would only end up back in prison, and Ryou wasn't sure what that would do to him. But it wouldn't be good. So Ryou did not draw the air together. He let the man fall, and let him be free. He watched as Tom Miller disappeared below him as the others pulled him back into the plane.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"He's gone." Serenity declared, softly, as the police began to reform in a circle around him. "It's over."

"Not yet it's not!" Amane reminded everyone. "We're still stuck on this stupid plane! And I'd just like to tell you all that today explained _exactly _why I hate flying!"

"Relax." Ryou said, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure we'll land soon… Right?"

They all exchanged looks. Ryou suddenly slapped a hand to his head.

"Let me guess. _Nobody's _flying the plane, are they?"

"I'm _never _flying again." Amane muttered to herself. "Ever. If I survive this, of course, because the only way down is to wait until we run out of fuel and _crash_!"

"Calm down." Penelope said, swallowing. "I… I can land the plane." _In theory_, she added to herself. "My dad's a pilot, remember? I've been with him in the cockpit loads of times, and…"

"Thank you." Ryou smiled, and, swallowing nervously, Penelope headed towards the cockpit itself.

"You could give me a little help." She suggested, slowly leaning forward to turn the autopilot that had kept them drifting off. "You know, make the air thicken, whatever it is you do; slow our descent a little."

"Sure." Ryou nodded.

"Hold on, everyone." Penelope said, suddenly calm. "This is my first time, so it may be a little bumpy. You might want to hang onto something."

"Perhaps you could try and get it so that if we hit anything, it's the wings that take the impact?" Serenity put in, holding onto one of the hooks Amane had been tied to. Amane, clinging to the other one, was very pale.

"I hate you all…" She whimpered, her ears and teeth beginning to shrink back to their normal size, her claws and tail slurping back into her.

"Never mind." Serenity said, comfortingly. "Maybe it'll be fun!"

Amane's response was lost as they began their descent. After a few minutes of chaos that Amane would from then on try to blank from her memory, they touched somewhat bumpily down onto the ground.

"Please…" Amane begged. "Let's _never _do that again…"

"Well, we have bigger problems now…" Serenity pointed out, backing away from one of the windows, out of sight. The plane was being swarmed by police and media. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't even have my mask…" Ryou said, worrying his lip. "We just need a distraction so we can get out of here…"

Right on cue, one was just arriving.

Panting, Joey ran up and quickly lost himself in the assembled crowd. The police were far too concerned with the plane now to bother about him, although judging by the white package they were hastily carted off, the villain had already… been apprehended. Now all he had to do was stand and wait for his sister to come back out.

Except…

Joey sighed as he realised that Masquerade had left his mask behind and so could not emerge unless everyone went away. He needed a distraction, and luckily, Joey had one as he conveniently spotted a helping hand on the floor. Slightly trampled underfoot was that discarded mask. Checking that no-one was looking, he pulled it on, hoping the hero could forgive him and that he'd be able to distract everyone long enough before they realised he wasn't the real deal. Someone jostled him, and, turning to apologise, saw who 'he' was.

"Masquerade!" The reporter gasped, raising a camera, and immediately, everyone began turning around. It was time to get out of here. Having just about got his breath back, Joey legged it away once again. How he wished he really _could _fly…

Back on the plane, they watched him go.

"Who _is _that…?" Ryou wondered, bewildered as the watched the impostor run, stumbling slightly and yelling. "Oh… It's Joey." He chuckled. "Serenity, your brother is a saviour." He turned away from the window. "Well, let's get out of here."

"No." Penelope said, slowly. "The police are going to need someone to question. And… and the papers are going to want _someone _to interview… I'll do it."

"You don't have to-" Ryou began, but she cut him off.

"They _know _Amane and I were up here, and probably Serenity to. If we don't give them something, they'll chase us forever, and who knows what lies will end up in print?" She smiled softly. "Besides… I sorta have a lot to make up for."

"…Thanks." Ryou answered, giving up. "Well, I suppose that'll make it easier to get us all out of here. I can fly us out."

"No way." Amane laughed worriedly. "No way. I am _never _going higher than the first floor again. _Ever_. I'd rather face the police then that!"

"But-"

"No!" Amane repeated, grinning at Penelope. "Besides, I have to make sure _she _doesn't admit something that'll get any of us arrested. Go ahead, you two. I'll see you at home."

"Um… right." Ryou swallowed, turning to Serenity. Suddenly, without the anxiety of the situation, this seemed a lot more awkward. "Um… may I?"

Serenity came over, and, feeling increasingly embarrassed, wrapped her arms around his neck, and, carefully, he lifted her.

"We'll have to take off as soon as we get out of the door," Ryou flustered. "But… just in case, do you think you could lean forward and cover my face, or something?"

"S…sure." Serenity answered, doing so. A moment later, they were out of the door and, in the blink of an eye, away. Amane rolled her eyes at Penelope.

"Let's just hope he does something. Those two are useless."

"I think he will." Penelope said, confidently. "They've just rescued the city together, saved each other's lives, and now she's ended up flying through the air where a winter sun is just setting, in his arms. If they don't do anything, it's a complete waste of time." She swallowed nervously. "Alright, then. Now they're out the way…"

"Let's do this." Amane nodded, and the two headed out of the plane, blinking in the setting sun of the early evening. Immediately, the remaining media were all over them, but, luckily, enough had chased after Joey to allow the police to reach them fairly quickly, and the two released hostages were hastened away.

"That's it." Ryou commented, watching his sister and Penelope being let into a car and driven out of harm's way. "It's over. I guess I'd better get you home."

"Don't rush." Serenity answered, looking up at him. "I love this."

"I…" Ryou replied, brilliantly, as he realised once again how close she was to him and became suddenly flustered. The same seemed to be happening to Serenity, and she turned away to look at the view.

"Flying, I mean." She added. "It's amazing. I wish I could do it."

"It's something I was born able to do." Ryou answered. "It's like breathing or blinking in that way. But, being up here with…um, being up here- Yes, it's amazing. I never fly for fun. I don't really get chance to appreciate it, I guess." Then he looked down below them. "Here it is. Can you get in from the roof?"

Serenity nodded, but felt confused. "Yes, but… how can you tell? They all look the same to me."

"Just practise." Ryou shrugged, setting her gently down. They stood together on the roof a little longer. "I should go." He said, reluctantly.

"Me to." Serenity muttered, but neither of them moved. "But I don't want to."

"Nor me." Ryou admitted, as they looked over the city, the last of the fires being put out, people emerging out onto the streets to check their neighbours were okay, and generally resuming their lives. Ryou shook his head. "People just move on, don't they? It's pretty wonderful."

"Moving on is what we're meant to do." Serenity commented. "Some of us… just go slower then others."

Ryou nodded, still looking out, the air blowing around them. "Yes. But I think… I think maybe I'm finally ready."

"Good." Serenity answered, and her hand slowly found his. Neither let go. "I think maybe I'll come with you. But… I guess the question is, where will we move on _to_?"

Ryou turned to her, smiling. "I guess we'll found out when we get there, Serenity."

"In that case, I'm packing my beach stuff." She joked, and then they fell into silence, standing on the rooftop hand in hand, watching the sun sink on the nightmare that had gone before.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Flying is an amazing thing. You're suddenly in this endless sky, where you can go in any direction for any distance, there are no limits, no boundaries. It is freedom. I feel so released when I'm up in that boundless sky, it makes my heart sing. You can look down, and see the world and all it's problems seem so small, so blown out of proportion, below you. Flying is the sense of something 'more', that maybe the things you worry about don't matter quite so much after all, that maybe the world is a generally good place to be. I never used to keep that feeling when I came back down to earth; but something's changed. I've changed. My relationships with those around me have changed and grown. My perception of my past has changed. I don't lock it away anymore. The door's been opened, and, slowly, it's seeping out into that open sky. The possibilities are endless. I feel refreshed, renewed. Today, I flew for the first time. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: And there we have it! It's almost the end! The epilogue will either be posted tomorrow or later today- probably today, because who wants to read this crud on Christmas Eve? But before I write it- and it's only short, to wrap up a few little bits- I have to go and clean the bathroom. Heh. I tell you what, though- it feels weird not having any rhetorical questions! No matter… I shall hopefully return in a few hours… If the smell of bleach doesn't kill me. XD


	17. An Organisation

A/N: Well, as promised, here we are at the end of the fic… _(Cry) _I have to admit, I _loved _writing this fic, I'm going to miss it so much… But! I really _love _this first scene of the Epilogue (it's my favourite in the entire thing, I think)…And the Second… The third is okay, I guess. Please, for the final time, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I have not gained anything in fifteen chapters, folks.

Epilogue- An Organisation

"It would be you. You're the only one who would do this to me."

"Stop being so dramatic." Amane complained, from behind him somewhere, in front of the kitchen's blackened walls. "You can't go around with it all different lengths!"

"Who's fault was that?!" Ryou pointed out, annoyed.

"I said sorry. I wasn't exactly used to having claws." Amane replied, irritably. "Now, stop complaining, you big pansy, or you're getting a crew cut!"

"I'll be good!" Ryou declared, throwing his hands up in surrender and let his sister cut his hair, left uneven by her claws, to look more normal. Inside, he mourned the loss of his locks.

"All done." Amane announced at length. "I think it looks kinda good like that." She decided, as he turned to face her.

"It feels odd…" Ryou answered, running his hands through his now short hair as Amane began to sweep up. It was as thick and fluffy as ever on the top, just a fraction of the length, now what Amane considered to be a 'normal' haircut, just to the nape of his neck. It felt very light and weird.

"It looks great." Amane assured him, pushing him in the direction of the bathroom and the flat's only mirror. "Go see for yourself." She cleaned up the last of the hair, and not a moment too soon, as it was then that the doorbell rang. She frowned, having not been expecting anyone, but then smiled as she opened the door to reveal Joey and Serenity.

"What are you guys doing here?" She asked, pleasantly surprised.

"We come bearing brushes." Serenity said, holding up several. "And rollers." She added, holding up a carrier bag in her other hand.

"And paint." Joey added, grinning, holding the two cans. "Word got around that your place got a little blackened but you couldn't afford any paint right now. Yugi and the others should be showing up pretty soon."

"You…" Amane stammered, touched by this gesture. "You guys rock!" She said, happily, throwing her arms around Joey, who rapidly went more red, and then released him.

"Well, you helped us with our flat, and Téa's, and the Game Shop. It's only fair we return the favour." Serenity pointed out. "Not to mention… everything else that's been happening."

"Ah."

Joey looked back and forth between the two, confused, but before he could say anything, Ryou emerged from the bathroom.

"Well, roll me over in the clover!" He yelled, shocked. "Um… I have _no _idea where that came from, but… but… _your hair_! My entire reality has been altered!"

"That's it." Ryou answered, grumpily, having only ventured out at all because he'd quite liked it after all. "I'm going back in the bathroom."

"Well, I think it looks good." Serenity told him, smiling. It really did suit him, having it cut shorter. He looked a little older, a little stronger, a little more masculine… With that, she cut her thought pattern off. He smiled back at her, and it melted her heart even more then usual.

"Oh, great." Amane sighed, unceremoniously dumping a roller into Ryou's arms. "If you two could perhaps turn your attention to some wall space instead of each other…"

Ryou chocked and spluttered, while Serenity blushed, causing their respective siblings to laugh.

"Well, better you then Duke or Tristan." Joey said cheerily, slapping Ryou amiably on the shoulder. "Though I have to admit, I was a little surprised to be walking home to see you two canoodling on the roof!"

"Please be quiet…" Ryou groaned, wishing he could sink into the ground in embarrassment.

"Hey, I'm proud of you." Amane said, wrapping an arm reassuringly around his shoulder. "Although, you know, I'm hoping you didn't use tongues. Because, you know, before you've even taken her on one date, that's just _wrong_."

"Now you're overdoing it." Ryou said tolerantly, although still gut wrenchingly embarrassed. "Especially as you only spotted us because you were 'canoodling' with Joey in the alleyway that runs down the side of the flats!"

Now the situations of chocking and laughing reversed, and, although slightly embarrassed, Joey took it all in his stride.

"Well, as you already know…" He said, grinning sheepishly. "That means I can give in and canoodle your sister right here."

"Joey!" Amane protested, giggling, as he pulled her in close; but she stopped protesting and allowed him to bring his lips down close to hers- before Serenity pushed a paint brush in between them and Joey got a mouth full of bristles.

"Sorry, but that, I do not need to see. Again." She chuckled. "Now then. If you two could perhaps turn your attention to some wall space instead of each other…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_ I can't believe I kissed her. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly glad I did, and I have to say I found very enjoyable, but I can't believe I did it. It's so… unlike me. But then, I suppose we were talking about moving on in our lives; and you don't act, you never get anywhere- You stay stationary in the same rut you were always in. You have to move along to get out of it. You have to push against your limitations, spur yourself on, and sometimes get a little help from those around you, to get to where you want to be. Sometimes, you don't even know where that is until you get there. I never did. But I knew, standing on that rooftop, 'canoodling' as my friends so _frequently _put it, that I had moved on, been pulled out of my rut, and that I was where I wanted to be, even as I continue to move away from where I used to be. It's been a hard time, and I don't know if it will get any easier, but with people like this, I'm sure it will get better. _

_I'm glad I moved. _

_I'm even happier that she moved with me._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

**And so, ladies and gentleman, we arrive at the end of another chapter in an old woman's memoirs. This was a turning point for all of us. Serenity had a wonderful effect on my brother, drawing him out of his shell, helping to believe in himself and his abilities. I daresay that he loved her very much.**

**As for Joey and I, well, I have to admit that I was never happier then I was in those teenage years I spent with him. Despite everything that came next, all the things we had to go through before any of us could get any peace, he was always there with that same stupid goofy smile on his face. My moronic sweetheart, as his dad called him. He always said to me that he was very glad I'd chosen his son, which I suppose was a compliment. After that stay in hospital at the time of the Pyromaniac's fires, he gradually got better, and became as good a friend and father to Joey and I as anyone could ask. Of course, my own father was still nowhere to be found, but that's another story entirely. **

**I am not trying to deceive you, my readers, the remaining pages of this book will not be filled with an old woman's ramblings; though it sounds as though we all lived happily ever after. At the time, that is what we thought to. A few days later, however, we got a visit from one Seto Kaiba- master duellist, master business man, and an amazingly powerful telekinetic. This was before the days when our very own Téa would have such a positive effect on him, and so, in his usual gruff manner of the time, he told us what he was willing to do. He had taken out the Trust Master, and did not want to be bothered by them again. As such, he gave us a warehouse and the equipment to fill it. A new Trust was formed, an organisation of heroes that wanted to help **without** charging, where we could meet and train in secret- we called ourselves The Revolt, (Which sounds like a rock and roll band, but we were young) but never really had time to grow to a huge size before the day came when we had to close the doors forever. Back in those early days, if Seto was the money and the brains behind the organisation, Penelope, anxious to help, was the eyes and ears; and we were the heart. In these cynical days where Masquerade and we that stood with him are all but dead and buried and forgotten, I salute you, reader, for following our lives this far. If you can believe in those tall tales of Magic, Millennium Items, and the Shadows, read on. This book, I shall once again reiterate, is all as true as gravity pulling downwards. From here, our lives got harder and darker and much more difficult to live through. So please, hesitate on this page as I do, and dwell in the months of happiness we enjoyed when the world was almost right. Our lives would have been perfect, were it not for the fact that Jay was still in his poor soulless state; and the fact Ryou and I believed our parents to be dead. If we had decided not to address these things, I have no doubt we would not have had to push through such dark times. So, now, just as we did, you have a choice. Stay here and enjoy the happiest days I had; or let curiosity get the better of you and turn the page.**

**Because, unlike a book, time cannot stand still. As Ryou so often observed following that evening we saw him 'canoodling' on the rooftop, everyone has to keep moving on. The only way out of a rut is to climb. The only way to get anywhere is to walk. And the only way to get through the dark times is to remember the light before it and the light that must surely follow after; just as the Earth moves on endlessly on a cycle through night and through day. **

_From 'Behind the Mask', the memoirs of Amane Lauren Bakura; later proved to be the last surviving member of The Revolt._

_**-The End-**_

A/N: And there we have it, chaps. All done… I'm so emotional… _(Ahem) _So, our stats. The fic totalled 202 pages _exactly_, (Excluding A/Ns), had 116211 words, in 3377 paragraphs. The fandom was, of course, Yu-Gi-Oh, which belongs to Kazuki Takahasi. In case I haven't introduced myself, I've been **Waffles4eva. **I'd like to thank **Dragonlady222** for her constant reviewing, but also the 'silent' readers- who I can only assume read because this story is on their alerts-** Algeera, Asfet Mau, Eressie, Ryou VeRua, SalanTrong, Setoglomper, ****dark-anime-lover****, dragonwings64, it walks alone, ****quality**and my good pal-** scooby2408. **Hope you guys all enjoyed to:D

Guess what, folks? I get to do some rhetorical questions- because that was even more blatantly opened up for a sequel then Pirates of the Caribbean II. And who doesn't love Pirates of the Caribbean? Anyways- Will Jay ever be revived? What new, and old, heroes will show up? What causes superpowers? When the hero needs saving, who can step up? Those left alive. More action, more comedy, more romance, more angst-y moral conundrums, and more trouble coming in **A Superhero Story II- The Shadows… **

Okay, so, yes, I'd like to write an SHS II. Heck, I'd start it today if I wouldn't feel guilty about the sequel to '**Wherever you Go' **all that time ago. Yup, that's what's next- **Fall or Fly**, where we rejoin the cast to find them all grown up and married with families; and having plenty of mid-life crisis's. (I'm fairly sure that should be crisisi, but Word won't accept it. Meh). And it's not just the parents. The kids are having enough problems of their own- a Wheeler and a Kaiba should not fall for each other. (I know, it's been way overdone, but everyone has to do it once XD) Not to mention Maya's struggles to find out why her mother, Anna Kaiba, is such an enigma. I'm sorry, kids, but that's all the info I can give you at the moment- but I do have plenty of funny, heart wrenching, cringe worthy, and every other type of moments lied up for our cast. I hope to start it pretty early in the New Year.

As for **SHS II**, I think it's going to turn up… probably about this time next year, because of these wonderful things called GCSEs, combined with a 'write something original itch' I'm dying to satisfy. It's a pathetically long time, isn't it? _(Sweatdrop) _My apologies… It may be sooner, as I'm hoping to keep **Fall or Fly **quite short. But never mind all that…

Let me just say a HUGE thanks to anyone who's read this far, I hope you've enjoyed it, and, of course-** MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR:D**


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